Isaiah 11:4

But 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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
righteousness	בְּצֶ֙דֶק֙ be.Tze.dek	H6664	the right (natural · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
judge	וְשָׁפַ֤ט ve.sha.Fat	H8199	to judge · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
poor	דַּלִּ֔ים da.Lim	H1800	properly · adjective, masculine plural absolute
reprove	וְהוֹכִ֥יחַ ve.ho.Khi.ach	H3198	to be right (i.e. correct) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
equity	בְּמִישׁ֖וֹר be.mi.Shor	H4334	a level · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
meek	לְעַנְוֵי le.'an.vei-	H6035	depressed (figuratively) · preposition + adjective, masculine plural construct
earth	אָ֑רֶץ 'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular absolute
smite	וְהִֽכָּה ve.hi.kah-	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
earth	אֶ֙רֶץ֙ 'e.retz	H776	the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular absolute
rod	בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט be.She.vet	H7626	a scion · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
mouth	פִּ֔יו Piv	H6310	the mouth (as the means of blowing) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
breath	וּבְר֥וּחַ u.ve.Ru.ach	H7307	wind · conjunction + preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
lips	שְׂפָתָ֖יו se.fa.Tav	H8193	the lip (as a natural boundary) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
slay	יָמִ֥ית ya.Mit	H4191	to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
wicked	רָשָֽׁע ra.Sha'	H7563	morally wrong · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of h…
Revelation 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treade…
Job 4:9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
Proverbs 31:8-9 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth…
Psalms 72:12-14 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up th…
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 11:1-9

The prophet had before, in this sermon, spoken of a child that should be born, a son that should be given, on whose shoulders the government should be, intending this for the comfort of the people of God in times of trouble, as dying Jacob, many ages before, had intended the prospect of Shiloh for the comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He had said (Isa 10:27) that the yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing; now here he tells us on whom that anointing should rest. He foretels, I. That the Messiah should, in due time, arise out of the house of David, as that branch of the Lord which he had said (Isa 4:2) should be excellent and glorious; the word is Netzer, which some…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 11:4

judge--see that impartial justice is done them. "Judge" may mean here "rule," as in Psa 67:4. reprove--or, "argue"; "decide." But LOWTH, "work conviction in." earth--Compare with Mat 5:5, and Rev 11:15. earth--its ungodly inhabitants, answering to "the wicked" in the parallel, and in antithesis to the "poor" and "meek," namely, in spirit, the humble pious (Mat 5:3). It is at the same time implied that "the earth" will be extraordinarily wicked when He shall come to judge and reign. His reign shall therefore be ushered in with judgments on the apostates (Psa 2:9-12; Luk 18:8; Rev 2:27). rod of . . . mouth--condemning sentences which proceed from His mouth against the wicked (Rev 1:16;…

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John Gill on Isaiah 11:4

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,.... The poor sinner, that is sensible of his spiritual poverty, and comes and acknowledges his sins and transgressions, and prays for pardoning grace and mercy, and hungers and thirsts after righteousness; such Christ justifies with his own righteousness, acquits and discharges them from all sin and condemnation, as also protects and defends them against all their enemies and oppressors: and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; that is, shall take the part of the meek, the lowly, and the humble, who are under a sense of their sins and unworthiness, apply to him for grace, righteousness, pardon, and eternal life; and for their sakes r…

The Church Fathers

He [Christ] does not esteem the learned above the simple, nor the rich above the poor.
— Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15:23

rod of his mouth....: He is not speaking literally, for all the language in this passage he employs in a spiritual sense.
— John Chrysostom,

Hence, when Isaiah said "he will judge the poor with justice," he was without doubt speaking of those very persons to whom it was said, "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel 1:7.6

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Christ — Anointed, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word rendered “Messiah” (q.v.), the official title of our Lord, occurring five hundred and fourteen times in the New Testament. It denotes that he was…
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Judgments · Different kinds of: Destruction — Different kinds of: Destruction
Justice · Christ, an example of — Christ, an example of
Meekness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Power Of Christ, The · The wicked shall be destroyed by — The wicked shall be destroyed by
Righteousness · Christ: Shall judge with — Christ: Shall judge with

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 11:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 11:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 11:4

John Gill on Isaiah 11:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 11:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 11:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 11:4

John Gill on Isaiah 11:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Isaiah 11:4

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 11:4-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 11:4

Rashi on Isaiah 11:4