Isaiah 11:4 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Judge the poor; defend and deliver them, as judging is oft used, as Deuteronomy 32:36 Jeremiah 5:28, Jeremiah 22:16, &c. Or, judge for the poor; the prefix lamed being understood out of the next clause, as is usual in the Hebrew language. He mentions the poor, partly to signify the justice of this Judge, because human judges commonly neglect and oppress the poor; and partly to declare the nature of Christ's kingdom, and the quality of his subjects, who should, for the generality of them, be the poor and contemptible sort of men, Matthew 11:5 James 2:5. Reprove; or, as this word seems to be taken, Isaiah 11:3, condemn, to wit, their malicious and furious enemies. For the meek; on their behalf, or giving sentence for them. He calls them meek, whom before he called poor, partly to show his justice in defending them who are most exposed to the contempt and injuries of men and partly to signify that his subjects should be poor in spirit as well as in the world, and not poor and proud, as many worldly men are. Smite, i.e. slay, as this word is used, Isaiah 37:36, and very commonly, and as it is expounded in the next clause. The earth; the men of the earth, the wicked, as it is in the next branch of the verse; fitly called earth, either because of their earthly minds and conversations, as they are called the men of this world that have their portion here upon the earth, Psalms 17:14, or because the far greatest part of the inhabitants of the earth is wicked; the whole world lies in wickedness, 1 John 5:1,9; for which reason they are oft called the world, as 1 Thessalonians 16:20, 1 Thessalonians 17:9,25, &c. With the rod of his mouth; with his word, which is his sceptre, and the rod of his power, Psalms 110:2, which is sharper than a sword, Hebrews 4:12; by the preaching whereof he subdued the world to himself, and will destroy his enemies, 2 Thessalonians 2:8. This he adds, further to declare the nature of Christ's kingdom, that it is not of this world, and that his sceptre and arms are not carnal, but spiritual, as it is said, 2 Corinthians 10:4. With the breath of his lips; with his word breathed out of his lips, whereby he explains what he meant by the foregoing rod. Shall he slay the wicked; either spiritually, by inflicting deadly plagues upon their souls; or properly, which he doth very frequently by his terrible judgments executed upon many of them, and will certainly do, and that fully and universally, at his coming to judgment.