Discovery BoxIsaiah 11:5-16
Context11:5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist,
integrity will be like a belt around his hips. 1
11:6 A wolf will reside 2 with a lamb,
and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;
an ox and a young lion will graze together, 3
as a small child leads them along.
11:7 A cow and a bear will graze together,
their young will lie down together. 4
A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.
over the hole of a snake; 6
over the nest 7 of a serpent
an infant 8 will put his hand. 9
11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy
on my entire royal mountain. 10
For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,
just as the waters completely cover the sea. 11
11:10 At that time 12 a root from Jesse 13 will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, 14 and his residence will be majestic. 11:11 At that time 15 the sovereign master 16 will again lift his hand 17 to reclaim 18 the remnant of his people 19 from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, 20 Cush, 21 Elam, Shinar, 22 Hamath, and the seacoasts. 23
11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;
he will gather Israel’s dispersed people 24
and assemble Judah’s scattered people
from the four corners of the earth.
11:13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, 25
and Judah’s hostility 26 will be eliminated.
Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah,
and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.
11:14 They will swoop down 27 on the Philistine hills to the west; 28
together they will loot the people of the east.
They will take over Edom and Moab, 29
and the Ammonites will be their subjects.
11:15 The Lord will divide 30 the gulf 31 of the Egyptian Sea; 32
he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River 33 and send a strong wind, 34
he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, 35
and enable them to walk across in their sandals.
11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria
for the remnant of his people, 36
just as there was for Israel,
when 37 they went up from the land of Egypt.
[11:5] 1 tn Heb “Justice will be the belt [or “undergarment”] on his waist, integrity the belt [or “undergarment”] on his hips.” The point of the metaphor is uncertain. If a belt worn outside the robe is in view, then the point might be that justice/integrity will be readily visible or that these qualities will give support to his rule. If an undergarment is in view, then the idea might be that these characteristics support his rule or that they are basic to everything else.
[11:6] 2 tn The verb גּוּר (gur) normally refers to living as a dependent, resident alien in another society.
[11:6] 3 tc The Hebrew text reads, “and an ox, and a young lion, and a fatling together.” Since the preceding lines refer to two animals and include a verb, many emend וּמְרִיא (umÿri’, “and the fatling”) to an otherwise unattested verb יִמְרְאוּ (yimrÿ’u, “they will graze”); cf. NAB, TEV, CEV. One of the Qumran copies of Isaiah confirms this suggestion (1QIsaa). The present translation assumes this change.
[11:7] 4 tn Heb “and a cow and a bear will graze – together – they will lie down, their young.” This is a case of pivot pattern; יַחְדָּו (yakhddav, “together”) goes with both the preceding and following statements.
[11:8] 5 tn Heb “one sucking,” i.e., still being nursed by his mother.
[11:8] 6 tn Or perhaps, “cobra” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV); KJV, ASV, NRSV “asp.”
[11:8] 7 tc The Hebrew text has the otherwise unattested מְאוּרַת (mÿ’urat, “place of light”), i.e., opening of a hole. Some prefer to emend to מְעָרַת (mÿ’arat, “cave, den”).
[11:8] 8 tn Heb “one who is weaned” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[11:8] 9 sn The transformation of the animal kingdom depicted here typifies what will occur in human society under the just rule of the ideal king (see vv. 3-5). The categories “predator-prey” (i.e., oppressor-oppressed) will no longer exist.
[11:9] 10 tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).
[11:9] 11 tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.
[11:10] 12 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] 13 sn See the note at v. 1.
[11:10] 14 tn Heb “ a root from Jesse, which stands for a signal flag of the nations, of him nations will inquire” [or “seek”].
[11:11] 15 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.
[11:11] 16 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[11:11] 17 tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).
[11:11] 18 tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”
[11:11] 19 tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”
[11:11] 20 sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).
[11:11] 21 tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).
[11:11] 22 tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).
[11:11] 23 tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”
[11:12] 24 tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.
[11:13] 25 tn Heb “turn aside”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “depart.”
[11:13] 26 tn Heb “hostile ones of Judah.” Elsewhere when the substantival participle of צָרָר (tsarar) takes a pronominal suffix or appears in a construct relationship, the following genitive is objective. (For a list of texts see BDB 865 s.v. III צָרַר) In this case the phrase “hostile ones of Judah” means “those who are hostile toward Judah,” i.e., Judah’s enemies. However, the parallel couplet that follows suggests that Judah’s hostility toward Ephraim is in view. In this case “hostile ones of Judah” means “hostile ones from Judah.” The translation above assumes the latter, giving the immediate context priority over general usage.
[11:14] 27 tn Heb “fly.” Ephraim/Judah are compared to a bird of prey.
[11:14] 28 tn Heb “on the shoulder of Philistia toward the sea.” This refers to the slopes of the hill country west of Judah. See HALOT 506 s.v. כָּתֵף.
[11:14] 29 tn Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand,” i.e., included in their area of jurisdiction (see HALOT 648 s.v. ח(וֹ)מִשְׁלֹ).
[11:15] 30 tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”
[11:15] 31 tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[11:15] 32 sn That is, the Red Sea.
[11:15] 33 tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.
[11:15] 34 tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.
[11:15] 35 tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.
[11:16] 36 tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”
