Isaiah

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

1A young shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse. A branch will grow from his roots and bear fruit.

NoteJesse was King David's father. A stump means a family line that looks cut down and finished. The shoot is a new king growing from it.

2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him. It will give him wisdom and understanding, good advice and strength, knowledge and deep respect for the LORD.

3And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

3He will be glad to honor the LORD. He will not judge by what he happens to see, or decide by what he happens to hear.

4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

4He will judge poor people fairly. He will make right decisions for humble people everywhere. His word will strike the earth, and his breath will kill the wicked.

Note"The rod of his mouth" means the words he speaks, not a stick. His spoken word is what does the work.

5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

5Doing right will be like the belt around his waist. Being faithful will be the sash he wears.

6The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

6The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat. The calf, the lion cub, and the fattened animal will be together, and a little child will lead them.

7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

7The cow and the bear will eat side by side, and their young will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like an ox.

8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

8A baby will play near the hole of a poisonous snake. A small child will reach a hand into the snake's nest.

9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

9Nothing will hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain. The earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD, the way water fills the sea.

10And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

10On that day the root of Jesse will stand like a flag that people gather around. Nations will come looking for him, and the place where he rests will be full of glory.

11And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

11On that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time. He will bring back the ones left alive from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the far-off coastlands.

12And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

12He will raise a flag for the nations to see. He will gather the people of Israel who were driven away, and collect the scattered people of Judah from every corner of the earth.

13The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

13Ephraim will stop being jealous, and Judah's enemies will be cut off. Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not trouble Ephraim.

NoteEphraim stands for the northern part of Israel, and Judah for the southern part. The two had long been rivals.

14But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

14They will swoop down on the Philistine hillsides to the west. Together they will take goods from the peoples to the east. They will take control of Edom and Moab, and Ammon will obey them.

15And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.

15The LORD will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea. He will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River with a scorching wind. He will split it into seven small streams so people can walk across without wetting their shoes.

16And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

16There will be a wide road for the ones left alive from Assyria. It will be like the road Israel had when they came up out of Egypt.