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Isaiah 11:6 Describes Peace In The Millennial Kingdom
Just imagine the animal kingdom existing in peace with other animals and humans. That is what Isaiah 11:6 reports,
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Isaiah 11:6 (NASB)
Isaiah 65:25 is another Old Testament passage that is similar, but does not refer to the lion will lie down with the lamb. It says the “wolf and the lamb shall graze together.”
“The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD. Isaiah 65:25 (NASB)
But there are no biblical passages that refer to the lamb and the lion lying down together. That is a very common misunderstanding.
Isaiah 11:6 Has Not Changed
Every historical document that refers to Isaiah 11:6 does not say, “the lion will lie down with the lamb.” They do not refer to the lion and the lamb. They say that the “wolf and the lamb shall graze together.” What follows are six historical examples of information that demonstrate Isaiah 11:6 has never read “the lion will lie down with the lamb.” They always refer to the wolf and the lamb.
The Hebrew Bible — The Tanakh
The first example of Isaiah 11:6 comes from the Hebrew Bible. It is identical to our English Bibles.
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Isaiah 11:6 (The Tanakh)[1]
The Hebrew word that is translated as “wolf” is zeeb. It occurs seven times in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament (Genesis 49:27; Isaiah 11:6; 65:25; Jeremiah 5:6; Ezekiel 22:27; Habakkuk 1:8; Zephaniah 3:3). Every time it is translated as wolf because that is the meaning of the Hebrew word. It is never translated as lion. Therefore, Isaiah 11:6 does not refer to the lion and the lamb.
1611 King James Bible
The second important example is the 1611 King James Bible. It should be noted that Isaiah 11:6 in the 1611 King James Version Bible reads the same as it does in modern Bibles. Here is Isaiah 11:6 in the 1611 KJV:
The wolfe also shall dwell with the lambe, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calfe and the yong lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 1611 King James Bible[2]
This reveals that Isaiah 11:6 has not changed since the 1611 King James Version Bible was printed.
Early Church Fathers (A.D. 349-407)
A review of the writings of the early church reveals that John Chrysostom paraphrases Isaiah 11:6 in his commentary on the “The Gospel of Matthew.” It is important to note that Chrysostom lived about A.D. 349 – 407. Here is his paraphrase of a portion of Isaiah 11:6,
Then wolves and lambs shall feed together . . .[3]
Saint Ambrose (A.D. 340 – 397) also refers to the wolves and lambs feeding together.[4] The article Did Isaiah 11:6 once say the lion shall lie down with the lamb? contains a more complete listing of the writings of the early church fathers that quote Isaiah 11:6. Each of the quotes contain the phrase “wolf and lamb.”
The Pseudepigrapha (A.D. 2nd – 7th Century)
The Sibylline Oracles (A.D. 2nd-7th century), which is part of the Pseudepigrapha, rewords and plagiarizes the verse without giving credit to the original source of Isaiah 11:6.
Wolves and lambs will eat grass together in the mountain. Leopards will feed together with the kids.[5]
Dead Sea Scrolls (circa 125 B.C.)
The scroll 1QIsa (~ 125 B.C.) in the Dead Scrolls also contains the book of Isaiah and Isaiah 11:6 states that the wolf and lamb will be together and not a lion and lamb.[6]
The Septuagint (3rd to 2nd Century B.C.)
The Septuagint (third to second century B.C.), which is the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible contains Isaiah 11:6. The following is a translation of the Greek text,
And the wolf shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid . . .[7]
Therefore, this means that Isaiah 11:6 has not changed since at least 270 B.C. The reader is also encouraged to visit, “Did Isaiah 11:6 once say the lion shall lie down with the lamb?”
There are those who think there is a Bible verse that says, “God helps those who help themselves.” But it does not exist in the Bible and there is no verse that says the lamb and lion will lie down together. Yet, since peace will exist throughout the millennial kingdom it will be true that all the animals will be at peace with one another. What is truly amazing about this passage is that a little boy will lead them. Now that is amazing.