Isaiah 11

1 [Like] [MET] a [new] shoot [often] grows from the stump [of a tree], there will be a descendant of King David who will be a new king.

And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of Yahweh will always be with him. The Spirit will enable him to be wise and to understand [much about many things]. The Spirit will enable him to decide what is good to do, and will enable him to be very powerful. The Spirit will enable him to know Yahweh and to revere him.

And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.

3 He will be glad to obey Yahweh. He will not decide [whether someone is righteous or not only] by seeing what that person looks like, or by listening to [what others say about that person].

And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears;

4 He will judge [the cases of] needy people fairly; and he will act justly toward poor people. He will punish evil people as a result of what he decides [MTY]; he will get rid of wicked people because of [MTY] [their behavior].

but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

5 He will always act righteously; his doing that will [accompany him like] [MET] a belt [around his waist]. He will always speak what is true; his doing that will [accompany him like] [MET] a sash [around his waist].

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

6 [When he becomes king], wolves and lambs will live together [peacefully]; leopards, [instead of killing] baby goats, will lie down with them. [Similarly], calves and lions will eat food together; and a young child will take care of them.

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7 Cows and bears will eat [together]; bear cubs and calves will lie down together. Lions will [not eat other animals]; [instead], they will eat hay like cows do.

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 Babies will play [safely] near the holes where cobra snakes [live]; small children will [even] put their hands into nests of poisonous snakes, [and the snakes will not harm them].

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.

9 No creatures will harm or kill other creatures on [Zion Hill], my holy hill; and the earth will [be filled with people who] know Yahweh like [SIM] the seas are full of water.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

10 At that time, a descendant of King David will [hold up] a flag to signal to the people of all people-groups [that they should gather around him]; they will come to him to get his advice, and the place where he lives will be glorious.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious.

11 At that time, Yahweh will (reach out his hand/use his power) as he did long ago; he will enable those who had been (exiled from/forced to leave) Israel to return home, from Assyria, from northern Egypt, from southern Egypt, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath, and from all the distant countries near the sea.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12 Yahweh will raise his flag among [all] the people-groups, and he will gather together the people of Israel who had been exiled [long ago]. He will gather from very distant places [IDM] on the earth the people of Judah who [(had been scattered to/are living in) those places].

And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13 [Then], the people of Israel and the people of Judah will not be jealous of each other [any longer], and they will no [longer] be enemies of each other.

The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

14 Their [armies] will [join together to] attack the people of Philistia to the west. And together they will attack nations to the east; they will [defeat those nations and] take away all their valuable possessions. They will capture [the areas of] Edom and Moab, and the people of the Ammon people-group will be controlled/ruled by the people of Israel and Judah.

And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

15 Yahweh will make a dry road through the sea near Egypt. And [it will be as though] he will wave his hand over the [Euphrates] River and send a strong wind to cause it to divide into seven streams, with the result that people will be able to walk across [those streams].

And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod.

16 And because he will make a highway for his people who are living in Assyria, they will be able to return [to their own land], just like [long ago] he made a path for [the people of] Israel [so that they could go through the water] when they left Egypt.

And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.