Yesaya 11:4

11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, ¹ 

and make right decisions ²  for the downtrodden of the earth. ³ 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, ⁴ 

and order the wicked to be executed. ⁵ 

Yesaya 11:7-8

11:7 A cow and a bear will graze together,

their young will lie down together. ⁶ 

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

11:8 A baby ⁷  will play

over the hole of a snake; ⁸ 

over the nest ⁹  of a serpent

an infant ¹⁰  will put his hand. ¹¹ 

[11:4]  ¹ tn Heb “with justice” (so NAB) or “with righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[11:4]  ² tn Heb “make decisions with rectitude”; cf. ASV, NRSV “and decide with equity.”

[11:4]  ³ tn Or “land” (NAB, NCV, CEV). It is uncertain if the passage is picturing universal dominion or focusing on the king’s rule over his covenant people. The reference to God’s “holy mountain” in v. 9 and the description of renewed Israelite conquests in v. 14 suggest the latter, though v. 10 seems to refer to a universal kingdom (see 2:2-4).

[11:4]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and he will strike the earth with the scepter of his mouth.” Some have suggested that in this context אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) as an object of judgment seems too broad in scope. The parallelism is tighter if one emends the word to ץ(י)עָרִ (’arits, “potentate, tyrant”). The phrase “scepter of his mouth” refers to the royal (note “scepter”) decrees that he proclaims with his mouth. Because these decrees will have authority and power (see v. 2) behind them, they can be described as “striking” the tyrants down. Nevertheless, the MT reading may not need emending. Isaiah refers to the entire “earth” as the object of God’s judgment in several places without specifying the wicked as the object of the judgment (Isa 24:17-21; 26:9, 21; 28:22; cf. 13:11).

[11:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.” The “breath of his lips” refers to his speech, specifically in this context his official decrees that the wicked oppressors be eliminated from his realm. See the preceding note.

[11:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “one sucking,” i.e., still being nursed by his mother.

[11:8]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “cobra” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV); KJV, ASV, NRSV “asp.”

[11:8]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “one who is weaned” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[11:8]  ¹¹ 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.