Isaiah 11:1-16

Isaiah 11:1-16 (Good News Translation)

1The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down;
but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from
among David's descendants.
          2The spirit of the
             LORD will give him wisdom

            and the knowledge and skill to rule his people.
            He will know the
             LORD's will and honor him,
              3and find pleasure in obeying him.

            He will not judge by appearance or hearsay;
              4he will judge the poor fairly

            and defend the rights of the helpless.
            At his command the people will be punished,
            and evil persons will die.
              5He will rule his people with justice and integrity.
              6Wolves and sheep will live together in peace,

            and leopards will lie down with young goats.
            Calves and lion cubs will feed
              together,

            and little children will take care of them.
              7Cows and bears will eat together,

            and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace.
            Lions will eat straw as cattle do.
              8Even a baby will not be harmed

            if it plays near a poisonous snake.
              9On Zion, God's sacred hill,

            there will be nothing harmful or evil.
            The land will be as full of knowledge of the
             LORD

            as the seas are full of water.

          10A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of
David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city
and give him honor.
          11When that day comes, the Lord will once again use his power
and bring back home those of his people who are left in Assyria and Egypt,
in the lands of Pathros, Ethiopia,
          Elam, Babylonia, and Hamath, and in the coastlands and on the
islands of the sea.
          12The Lord will raise a signal flag to show the nations that he
is gathering together again the scattered people of Israel and Judah and
bringing them back from the four corners of the earth.
          13The kingdom of Israel will not be jealous of Judah any more,
and Judah will not be the enemy of Israel.
          14Together they will attack the Philistines on the west and
plunder the people who live to the east. They will conquer the people of
Edom and Moab, and the people of Ammon will obey them.

          15The
         LORD will dry up the Gulf of Suez, and he will bring a hot wind
to dry up the Euphrates, leaving only seven tiny streams, so that anyone
can walk across.
          16There will be a highway out of Assyria for those of his
people Israel who have survived there, just as there was for their
ancestors when they left Egypt.

God bless you.