Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 11:7

"And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." — Isaiah 11:7 (ASV)

And the cow and the bear shall feed — That is, together. Animals that by nature do not dwell together, where by nature the one would be the prey of the other, will dwell together—an image of safety and peace.

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox — a representation of the change that will take place under the reign of the Messiah in the natural disposition of men, and in the aspect of society. This change is as great as if the lion were to lose its natural appetite for blood and live on the usual food of the ox.

This cannot be taken literally, for such an interpretation would suppose a change in the physical organization of the lion—of its appetites, its teeth, its digestive organs—a change which it would be absurd to suppose will ever exist. It would, in fact, make it a different being. And it is clear, therefore, that the whole passage is to be interpreted in a moral sense, denoting great and important changes in society and in the hearts of men.