Isaiah 11:7
in Isaiah 11The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
KJV
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
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This verse in Isaiah 11
Commentary
2 notes on this verseSuch is the grace of the waters, that their calves and lions flee from them, so that this prophetic saying about the sanctity of the Church rightly applies to them: Then wolves and lambs will graze together, and lions and oxen will eat straw together. No wonder, since even in the Church, water works in the same way, that the washed-away wickedness of the thieves is compared with the innocence.
This site's exposition
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb
on Isaiah 11:6-8
The wolf dwells with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the kid, and a little child leads the calf and the young lion together, predator and prey reordered under a single small hand rather than removed from the earth. The lion eating straw like the ox reverses the animal kingdom's usual violence rather than merely restraining it, and the sucking child who plays on the hole of the asp extends the peace to the most fearful image available, a serpent's den made safe for an infant's hand. Gill and Barnes both note the images build on each other by degree, moving from large predators toward the smallest and most vulnerable figure in the whole picture, the weaned child.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפָרָ֤ה | ufarah | and cow | H6510 → | |
| וָדֹב֙ | vado | and bear | H1677 → | |
| תִּרְעֶ֔ינָה | tireinah | they will graze | H7462 → | 177 times |
| יַחְדָּ֖ו | yachdav | together | H3162 → | 141 times |
| יִרְבְּצ֣וּ | yirbetzu | they will lie down | H7257 → | 30 times |
| יַלְדֵיהֶ֑ן | yaldeihen | young their | H3206 → | 89 times |
| וְאַרְיֵ֖ה | vearyeh | and [the] lion | H738 → | 80 times |
| כַּבָּקָ֥ר | kabakar | like the ox | H1241 → | 183 times |
| יֹֽאכַל־ | yokhal- | it will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| תֶּֽבֶן׃ | teven | straw | H8401 → |
וּפָרָ֤הand cow
ufarahH6510 →
וָדֹב֙and bear
vadoH1677 →
תִּרְעֶ֔ינָהthey will graze
tireinahH7462 →177 times
יַחְדָּ֖וtogether
yachdavH3162 →141 times
יִרְבְּצ֣וּthey will lie down
yirbetzuH7257 →30 times
יַלְדֵיהֶ֑ןyoung their
yaldeihenH3206 →89 times
וְאַרְיֵ֖הand [the] lion
vearyehH738 →80 times
כַּבָּקָ֥רlike the ox
kabakarH1241 →183 times
יֹֽאכַל־it will eat
yokhal-H398 →810 times
תֶּֽבֶן׃straw
tevenH8401 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Ambrose of Milan, The Six Days of Creation, 5.2.6 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.