Then wolves will live at peace with lambs, and leopards will lie down in peace with young goats. Calves, lions, and bulls will all live together in peace. A little child will lead them.

A small tree will begin to grow from the stump of Jesse. That branch will grow from Jesse's roots. The LORD'S Spirit will always be with that new king to give him wisdom, understanding, guidance, and power. The Spirit will help him know and respect the LORD. He will find joy in obeying the LORD. This king will not judge people by the way things look. He will not judge by listening to rumors. He will judge the poor fairly and honestly. He will be fair when he decides what to do for the poor of the land. If he decides people should be beaten, he will give the command, and they will be beaten. If he decides people must die, he will give the command, and those evil people will be killed. Goodness and fairness will be like a belt he wears around his waist.

Then wolves will live at peace with lambs, and leopards will lie down in peace with young goats. Calves, lions, and bulls will all live together in peace. A little child will lead them. Bears and cattle will eat together in peace, and all their young will lie down together and will not hurt each other. Lions will eat hay like cattle. Even snakes will not hurt people. Babies will be able to play near a cobra's hole and put their hands into the nest of a poisonous snake.

People will stop hurting each other. People on my holy mountain will not want to destroy things because they will know the LORD. The world will be full of knowledge about him, like the sea is full of water. At that time there will be someone special from Jesse's family. He will be like a flag that all the nations gather around. The nations will come to him and ask him what they should do. And the place where he is will be filled with glory.

Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. Those things were written so that we could have hope. That hope comes from the patience and encouragement that the Scriptures give us. All patience and encouragement come from God. And I pray that God will help you all agree with each other, as Christ Jesus wants. Then you will all be joined together. And all together you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other. This will bring honor to God. I tell you that Christ became a servant of the Jews to show that God has done what he promised their great ancestors.

Christ also did this so that the non-Jewish people could praise God for the mercy he gives to them. The Scriptures say, “So I will give thanks to you among the people of other nations; I will sing praise to your name.” And the Scriptures say, “You people of other nations should be happy together with God's people.” The Scriptures also say, “Praise the Lord all you people of other nations; all people should praise the Lord.” And Isaiah says, “Someone will come from Jesse's family. He will come to rule over the nations, and they will put their hope in him.” I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Suppose one of you has 100 sheep, but one of them gets lost. What will you do? You will leave the other 99 sheep there in the field and go out and look for the lost sheep. You will continue to search for it until you find it. And when you find it, you will be very happy. You will carry it home, go to your friends and neighbors and say to them, 'Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep!' In the same way, I tell you, heaven is a happy place when one sinner decides to change. There is more joy for that one sinner than for 99 good people who don't need to change.