And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Parallel translations
- WEB Righteousness will be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his waist.
- BSB Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist.
- NKJV Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
- NASB Also righteousness will be the belt around His hips, And faithfulness the belt around His waist.
- NLT He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Righteousness and faithfulness will be the Messiah's belt — the very character of his reign. His kingdom is marked by integrity.
Overview
As a warrior girds himself for action, the Messiah is girded with righteousness and faithfulness, the defining qualities of his government. These are not occasional virtues but his constant readiness to do right. The image anticipates the spiritual armor of his people, who are likewise to be belted with truth (Eph. 6:14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Eph 6:14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
- 1 Jn 1:9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Isa 25:1O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
- Isa 59:17For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
- 2 Cor 6:7By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
- 1 Pet 4:1Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
- Hos 2:20I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
- Rev 1:13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
- Rev 3:14And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
- Heb 2:17Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
- Ps 93:1The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 11:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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