Study

a Bible passage

Click a verse to see commentary

Select a resource above

The Peaceful Kingdom

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the L ord shall rest on him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the L ord.

His delight shall be in the fear of the L ord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide by what his ears hear;

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,

and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,

the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze,

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,

and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

They will not hurt or destroy

on all my holy mountain;

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the L ord

as the waters cover the sea.

Return of the Remnant of Israel and Judah

¹⁰ On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

¹¹ On that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

He will raise a signal for the nations,

and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,

and gather the dispersed of Judah

from the four corners of the earth.

The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,

the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;

Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,

and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim.

But they shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west,

together they shall plunder the people of the east.

They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites shall obey them.

And the L ord will utterly destroy

the tongue of the sea of Egypt;

and will wave his hand over the River

with his scorching wind;

and will split it into seven channels,

and make a way to cross on foot;

so there shall be a highway from Assyria

for the remnant that is left of his people,

as there was for Israel

when they came up from the land of Egypt.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

5. And righteousness shall be the belt. ¹⁸⁵¹⁸⁵ The girdle. — Eng. Ver. Some translate it girdle; but as the Prophet represents Christ to us wearing, as it were, the emblems of royalty, I have rather translated it belt, which is also a royal emblem, in the same manner as the scepter, which he had assigned to him a little before. When Job speaks of taking away the authority of kings, he says that the Lord will ungird their belt. (Job 12:18.) To be girded with a belt, therefore, is nothing else than to be exalted to royal authority, as we shall afterwards see in another passage. (Isaiah 14:5.)

The Prophet describes two ornaments belonging to the belt. These are righteousness and truth; unless it be thought that there is a change in the order of construction, as if he had said that Christ will be girded with true righteousness; for truth is not added as if it were different from righteousness, but in order to point out the nature of that righteousness with which Christ is girded. Some think that righteousness here denotes that which Christ imparts to us, that it may dwell, not only in himself, but in his members. Faith or truth they understand to be that by which we embrace the salvation which he offers to us.

The Chaldee paraphrast explains it thus; “and the righteous shall be round about him, believing worshippers shall approach to him.” ¹⁸⁶¹⁸⁶ “The Targum of Jonathan renders it, and the righteous shall be round about him; that is, ‘they shall cleave to him like a girdle.’” — Jarchi. But I adopt a more simple interpretation, as if he had said, “He shall not appear like kings, clothed with purple and a crown, or girded with a belt; but righteousness and truth shall shine forth in him.” I acknowledge, indeed, that righteousness is not confined to Christ, but belongs to his members; but we must attend to the mode of expression, that Christ comes forth to govern his people girded with righteousness, which he afterwards imparts to them by the secret influence of the Spirit. If we distinguish between the word אמונה (emunah) and righteousness, I consider it to mean faithfulness or steadfastness; as if he had said that Christ never disappoints his followers, for he continues always to be like himself.

¹⁸⁵ The girdle. — Eng. Ver.

¹⁸⁶ “The Targum of Jonathan renders it, and the righteous shall be round about him; that is, ‘they shall cleave to him like a girdle.’” — Jarchi.