2  ^aMay he judge your people with righteousness,

and your poor with justice!

1  ^bThere shall come forth a shoot from the stump of ^cJesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

2  And ^dthe Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

3  And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

4  but ^ewith righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and ^fwith the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

1  Behold, a king will reign in ^prighteousness,

and princes will rule in justice.