A Shoot From Jesse's Stump
From a cut stump a shoot grows, judging not by what his eyes see but with equity for the meek. Predator and prey lie down together and a child plays safely at a snake's den, because the earth is full of the knowledge of our Father.
11 1A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. a a v1 Paul names Jesus as the root of Jesse in whom the nations hope — Rom 15:12; Rev 5:5; Rev 22:16. 2The Spirit of our Father will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of our Father, 3and he will delight in the fear of our Father. He will not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear, 4but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5Righteousness will be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the sash around his hips. 6The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the fattened beast together—and a little child will lead them. 7The cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child will play over the cobra's hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of our Father as the waters cover the sea.
10In that day the root of Jesse—Jesus—will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will seek him, and his resting place will be glorious. b b v10 Paul quotes this verse of Jesus — the root of Jesse who rises to rule the nations, in whom the Gentiles hope (Romans 15:12). 11In that day the Sovereign Father will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant of his people who are left—from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies will be cut off; Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not be hostile toward Ephraim. 14They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west; together they will plunder the people of the east. They will seize Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. 15Our Father will utterly destroy the arm of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it into seven streams so that people can cross over in sandals. c c v15 The Sea of Egypt is the Red Sea; its northern arms include the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. 16There will be a highway for the remnant of his people still left in Assyria, as there was for Israel on the day they came up from the land of Egypt.
