Discovery BoxIsaiah 11:9 
Context11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy
on my entire royal mountain. 1
For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,
just as the waters completely cover the sea. 2
Isaiah 14:22
Context14:22 “I will rise up against them,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
“I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, 3
including the offspring she produces,” 4
says the Lord.
Isaiah 31:8
Context31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 5
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 6
They will run away from this sword 7
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
Isaiah 37:19
Context37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, 8 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 9
Isaiah 65:25
Context65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together; 10
a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, 11
and a snake’s food will be dirt. 12
They will no longer injure or destroy
on my entire royal mountain,” 13 says the Lord.
1 tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).
2 tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.
3 tn Heb “I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant” (ASV, NAB, and NRSV all similar).
4 tn Heb “descendant and child.”
5 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
6 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
7 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
8 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
9 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
10 sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.
11 sn These words also appear in 11:7.
12 sn Some see an allusion to Gen 3:14 (note “you will eat dirt”). The point would be that even in this new era the snake (often taken as a symbol of Satan) remains under God’s curse. However, it is unlikely that such an allusion exists. Even if there is an echo of Gen 3:14, the primary allusion is to 11:8, where snakes are pictured as no longer dangerous. They will no longer attack other living creatures, but will be content to crawl along the ground. (The statement “you will eat dirt” in Gen 3:14 means “you will crawl on the ground.” In the same way the statement “dirt will be its food” in Isa 65:25 means “it will crawl on the ground.”)
13 tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” These same words appear in 11:9. See the note there.
sn As in 11:1-9 the prophet anticipates a time when the categories predator-prey no longer exist. See the note at the end of 11:8.
