I have often heard the expression “and the lion shall lie down with the lamb” as a Biblical-sounding description of a day when peace in the world is achieved. This is similar to two Biblical passages I can find (both NIV translations):
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.” - Isaiah 6:11
“The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food.” - Isaiah 65:25
But, it’s not really the same as either of them. I assume that this expression might just be a common paraphrase, but I was wondering if anyone knew of its first usage? Was it written somewhere (in a hymn maybe?) long ago and accepted from there?
(Er, your first passage is Isaiah 11:6, not 6:11…)
Just a WAG: Well, in the King James version it reads, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”
In zoological terms, “Leopard lie down with a kid” is pretty similar to “lion lie down with a lamb”, but the latter is more poetic, not to mention euphonious (all those "L"s), plus in 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th century English culture probably more people were familiar with lambs rather than kids, as Britain was a big sheep-raising country and not real big on goats, and lions were more popular in English heraldry, poetry, fairy tales, etc., than leopards, thus “lion lie down with a lamb” stuck in people’s minds better than “leopard lie down with a kid”.
The phrase “and the lion shall lie down with the lamb” is from the song “Peace in the Valley,” written by Thomas F. Dorsey (well-known in gospel music circles, not the Tommy Dorsey of big-band fame). The verse was inspired by the passages in Isaiah.
While it seems he wrote the song for Mahalia Jackson, possibly the best-known recording was by Red Foley ( http://www.luma-electronic.cz/lp/p/Kenny/price_k_redfoley.htm ). Many subsequent artists, including Elvis Presley, changed one line from “the night is as fair as the day” to “the night is as black as the sea,” apparently mishearing the lyric and missing the point of the message.