The Meaning of Isaiah 11:5 Explained

Isaiah 11:5

KJV: And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

YLT: And righteousness hath been the girdle of his loins, And faithfulness -- the girdle of his reins.

Darby: And righteousness shall be the girdle of his reins, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

ASV: And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And righteousness  shall be the girdle  of his loins,  and faithfulness  the girdle  of his reins. 

What does Isaiah 11:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Righteousness and faithfulness (to God) would be His outstanding and determining characteristics. These were the marks of the Israelites" God (cf. Isaiah 5:16; Isaiah 65:16; Psalm 40:10; Psalm 119:75; Psalm 119:142; Zechariah 8:8). A belt in Isaiah"s culture held together everything else that the person wore. So the figure here pictures everything about the king as thoroughly righteous and pleasing to God.

Context Summary

Isaiah 11:1-9 - The Kingdom Of The Messiah
The advance of the Assyrian along the great north road is graphically described. It was marked by raided villages and towns. The night sky was lurid with flames. But his collapse would be as sudden and irretrievable as the felling of forest timber. As the one chapter closes we can almost hear the crash of the Assyrian tree to the ground, and there is no sprout from his roots. But in the next the prophet descries a fair and healthy branch uprising from the trunk of Jesse's line. The vision of the King is then presented, who can be none other than the divine Redeemer on whom rests the sevenfold Spirit of God. The second verse defines the work of the Comforter, and is evidently the model of that royal hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus. But remember that He on whom this divine unction rested longs to share the pentecostal gift with the least of His disciples, 1 John 2:27. Note that as man's sin brought travail and groaning on all creation, so will His redemption deliver it, Romans 8:19-25. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 11

1  The peaceable kingdom of the Branch out of the root of Jesse
10  The victorious restoration of Israel, and vocation of the Gentiles

What do the individual words in Isaiah 11:5 mean?

And shall be Righteousness the belt of His loins and faithfulness of His waist
וְהָ֥יָה צֶ֖דֶק אֵז֣וֹר מָתְנָ֑יו וְהָאֱמוּנָ֖ה חֲלָצָֽיו

וְהָ֥יָה  And  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
צֶ֖דֶק  Righteousness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: צֶדֶק  
Sense: justice, rightness, righteousness.
אֵז֣וֹר  the  belt 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֵזׄור  
Sense: waist-cloth, the innermost piece of clothing.
מָתְנָ֑יו  of  His  loins 
Parse: Noun, mdc, third person masculine singular
Root: מָתְנַיִם  
Sense: loins, hips.
וְהָאֱמוּנָ֖ה  and  faithfulness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמוּנָה  
Sense: firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness.
חֲלָצָֽיו  of  His  waist 
Parse: Noun, mdc, third person masculine singular
Root: חֲלָצַיִם  
Sense: loins.