18 Heb “and a cow and a bear will graze—together—they will lie down, their young.” This is a case of pivot pattern; יַחְדָּו (yakhddav, “together”) goes with both the preceding and following statements.
19 Heb “one sucking,” i.e., still being nursed by his mother.
20 Or perhaps, “cobra” (cf. , , , ); , , “asp.”
21 The Hebrew text has the otherwise unattested מְאוּרַת (mé’urat, “place of light”), i.e., opening of a hole. Some prefer to emend to מְעָרַת (mé’arat, “cave, den”).
22 Heb “one who is weaned” (cf. , , , ).
23 The transformation of the animal kingdom depicted here typifies what will occur in human society under the just rule of the ideal king (see vv. 3–5). The categories “predator-prey” (i.e., oppressor-oppressed) will no longer exist.
24 Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. ), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).
25 Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. ). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. .

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The cow and the bear shall graze;

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.

They shall not hurt or destroy

in all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The cow and the bear will graze,

their young ones will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like cattle.

An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,

and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.

They will not harm or destroy each other

on my entire holy mountain,

for the land will be as full

of the knowledge of the Lord

as the sea is filled with water.

NLTNew Living Translation

The cow will graze near the bear.

The cub and the calf will lie down together.

The lion will eat hay like a cow.

The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.

Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.

Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,

for as the waters fill the sea,

so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And a cow and a bear shall graze;

their young shall lie down together.

And a lion shall eat straw like the cattle.

And an infant shall play over a serpent’s hole,

and a toddler shall put his hand on a viper’s hole.

They will not injure and they will not destroy on all of my holy mountain,

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh,

as the waters cover the sea.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the cow and the bear shall feed;

Their young ones shall lie down together:

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,

And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,

As the waters cover the sea.

Public Domain