Isaiah 11:1

An Ideal King Establishes a Kingdom of Peace

11:1 A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s ¹  root stock,

a bud will sprout ²  from his roots.

Isaiah 14:30

14:30 The poor will graze in my pastures; ³ 

the needy will rest securely.

But I will kill your root by famine;

it will put to death all your survivors. ⁴ 

Isaiah 37:31

37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. ⁵ 

Isaiah 11:10

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

11:10 At that time ⁶  a root from Jesse ⁷  will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, ⁸  and his residence will be majestic.

Isaiah 14:29

14:29 Don’t be so happy, all you Philistines,

just because the club that beat you has been broken! ⁹ 

For a viper will grow out of the serpent’s root,

and its fruit will be a darting adder. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ¹¹ 

like a root out of parched soil; ¹² 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ¹³ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 5:24

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ¹⁵  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ¹⁶ 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ¹⁷  of the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁸ 

[11:1]  ¹ sn The text mentions David’s father Jesse, instead of the great king himself. Perhaps this is done for rhetorical reasons to suggest that a new David, not just another disappointing Davidic descendant, will arise. Other prophets call the coming ideal Davidic king “David” or picture him as the second coming of David, as it were. See Jer 30:9; Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hos 3:5; and Mic 5:2 (as well as the note there).

[11:1]  ² tc The Hebrew text has יִפְרֶה (yifreh, “will bear fruit,” from פָּרָה, parah), but the ancient versions, as well as the parallelism suggest that יִפְרַח (yifrakh, “will sprout”, from פָּרַח, parakh) is the better reading here. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:276, n. 2.

[14:30]  ³ tc The Hebrew text has, “the firstborn of the poor will graze.” “Firstborn” may be used here in an idiomatic sense to indicate the very poorest of the poor. See BDB 114 s.v. בְּכוֹר. The translation above assumes an emendation of בְּכוֹרֵי (bÿkhorey, “firstborn of”) to בְּכָרַי (bekharay, “in my pastures”).

[14:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “your remnant” (so NAB, NRSV).

[37:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”

[11:10]  ⁷ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:10]  ⁸ sn See the note at v. 1.

[11:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “ a root from Jesse, which stands for a signal flag of the nations, of him nations will inquire” [or “seek”].

[14:29]  ⁹ sn The identity of this “club” (also referred to as a “serpent” in the next line) is uncertain. It may refer to an Assyrian king, or to Ahaz. For discussion see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:331-32. The viper/adder referred to in the second half of the verse is his successor.

[14:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “flying burning one.” The designation “burning one” may allude to the serpent’s appearance or the effect of its poisonous bite. (See the note at 6:2.) The qualifier “flying” probably refers to the serpent’s quick, darting movements, though one might propose a homonym here, meaning “biting.” (See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:332, n. 18.) Some might think in terms of a mythological flying, fire breathing dragon (cf. NAB “a flying saraph”; CEV “a flying fiery dragon”), but this proposal does not make good sense in 30:6, where the phrase “flying burning one” appears again in a list of desert animals.

[53:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ¹² sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[5:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ¹⁴ sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.