King James Version

What Does Isaiah 1:9 Mean?

“Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”

Context

Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. overthrown: Heb. the overthrow of

And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. he goats: Heb. great he goats

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Commentary

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9) **Except the Lord of hosts **. . .—This name also had been stamped on the prophet’s mind at the time of his call (Isaiah 6:3). The God of the hosts (or *armies*) of heaven (sun, moon and stars, angels and archangels) and of earth had not been unmindful of the people. The idea of the “remnant” left when the rest of the people perished is closely connected with the leading thought of Isaiah 6:12-13. It had, perhaps, been impressed on the prophet’s mind by the “remnant” of Israel that had escaped from Tiglath-pileser or Sargon (2Chronicles 30:6; comp. Micah 5:7). **We should have been as Sodom **. . .—Here the prophet, continuing perhaps the thought of Isaiah 1:7, speaks of the destruction, in the next verse of the guilt, of the cities of the plain. Both had passed into a proverb. So Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:46-56) works out the parallelism; so our Lord speaks of the guilt of Sodom as being lighter than that of Capernaum (Matthew 11:23); so the tradition has condensed itself in the Arabic proverb, quoted by Cheyne, “More unjust than a *kadi *of Sodom.” (Comp. Isaiah 3:9; Deuteronomy 32:32.)

Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905). Public Domain.

Historical Context

This verse is found in the book of Isaiah. Understanding the historical and cultural background helps illuminate its meaning for the original audience and for us today.

Theological Significance

Isaiah 1:9 contributes to our understanding of God's character and His relationship with humanity. Consider how this verse connects to the broader themes of Scripture.