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Isaiah 11:3
ESV 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,
NIV and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;
NASB And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;
CSB His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, he will not execute justice by what he hears with his ears,
NLT He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay.
KJV And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
NKJV His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;

What does Isaiah 11:3 mean?

The prophet is discussing Israel's great future king. This Promised One will not only restore the line of David to glory, but He will also rule over the earth in perfect peace, righteousness, and justice (Isaiah 11:1–2).

This king will stand apart from Israel's earlier kings, especially those of Isaiah's time. The Messiah will delight in the "fear of the Lord." This "fear" does not describe a life of living in terror. This is not panic or groveling at the feet of an angry deity. "The fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 1:7) describes living with proper respect for the power and authority of God. This respect is in your actions and attitude acknowledging who God is.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this prophecy and He lived in this flawless understanding of the fear of the Lord. As the Son of God, He knew God, and wasted no time pursuing any other agenda beside serving the Lord. And He did this with both power and perfect humility. Mysteriously, Jesus is also the Lord. This is combining both perfect servanthood during His time on earth and perfect rule over the earth when He returns.

The Messiah will not judge between disputes between those He rules only by what natural senses can see and hear. Human leaders can be deceived by appearances and biases. Because He will be empowered by the Holy Spirit with wisdom and understanding, the Messiah will perfectly understand what is true, no matter how hidden. This is one of the qualities Jesus demonstrated during His earthly life (John 2:24–25).
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