1 Like a branch that sproutsfrom a stump,someone from David's familywill some day be king.
2 The Spirit of the Lordwill be with himto give him understanding,wisdom, and insight.He will be powerful,and he will knowand honour the Lord.
3 His greatest joy will beto obey the Lord.This king won't judgeby appearancesor listen to rumours.
4 The poor and the needywill be treated with fairnessand with justice.His word will be laweverywhere in the land,and criminalswill be put to death.
5 Honesty and fairnesswill be his royal robes.
6 Leopards will lie downwith young goats,and wolves will restwith lambs.Calves and lionswill eat togetherand be cared forby little children.
7 Cows and bears will sharethe same pasture;their young will restside by side.Lions and oxenwill both eat straw.
8 Little children will playnear snake holes.They will stick their handsinto dens of poisonous snakesand never be hurt.
9 Nothing harmful will take placeon the Lord's holy mountain.Just as water fills the sea,the land will be filledwith people who knowand honour the Lord.
10 The time is coming when one of David's descendants will be the signal for the people of all nations to come together. They will follow his advice, and his own nation will become famous.
11 When that day comes, the Lord will again reach out his mighty arm and bring home his people who have survived in Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the land along the coast.
12 He will give a signal to the nations, and he will bring together the refugees from Judah and Israel, who have been scattered all over the earth.
13 Israel will stop being jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be the enemy of Israel.
14 Instead, they will get together and attack the Philistines in the west. Then they will defeat the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites in the east. They will rule those people and take from them whatever they want.
15 The Lord will dry up the arm of the Red Sea near Egypt, and he will send a scorching wind to divide the River Euphrates into seven streams that anyone can step across.
16 Then for his people who survive, there will be a good road from Assyria, just as there was a good road for their ancestors when they left Egypt.