Yesaya 11:6-8

11:6 A wolf will reside ¹  with a lamb,

and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;

an ox and a young lion will graze together, ² 

as a small child leads them along.

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

their young will lie down together. ³ 

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

11:8 A baby ⁴  will play

over the hole of a snake; ⁵ 

over the nest ⁶  of a serpent

an infant ⁷  will put his hand. ⁸ 

[11:6]  ¹ tn The verb גּוּר (gur) normally refers to living as a dependent, resident alien in another society.

[11:6]  ² 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 (1QIsa^a). The present translation assumes this change.

[11:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “one sucking,” i.e., still being nursed by his mother.

[11:8]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps, “cobra” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV); KJV, ASV, NRSV “asp.”

[11:8]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “one who is weaned” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[11:8]  ⁸ 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.