1:9 If the Lord who commands armies 1 had not left us a few survivors,
we would have quickly become like Sodom, 2
we would have become like Gomorrah.
4:3 Those remaining in Zion, 3 those left in Jerusalem, 4
will be called “holy,” 5
all in Jerusalem who are destined to live. 6
10:20 At that time 7 those left in Israel, those who remain of the family 8 of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. 9 Instead they will truly 10 rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 11 10:21 A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 12 10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as 13 the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. 14 Destruction has been decreed; 15 just punishment 16 is about to engulf you. 17
11:5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 11:6 And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in 21 the richness of the olive root, 11:18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 11:19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 11:20 Granted! 22 They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear! 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but 23 God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; 24 otherwise you also will be cut off. 11:23 And even they – if they do not continue in their unbelief – will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 11:24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?
11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, 25 so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel 26 until the full number 27 of the Gentiles has come in. 11:26 And so 28 all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
11:27 And this is my covenant with them, 29
when I take away their sins.” 30
11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
1 tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” The title pictures God as the sovereign king who has at his disposal a multitude of attendants, messengers, and warriors to do his bidding. In some contexts, like this one, the military dimension of his rulership is highlighted. In this case, the title pictures him as one who leads armies into battle against his enemies.
2 tc The translation assumes that כִּמְעָט (kim’at, “quickly,” literally, “like a little”) goes with what follows, contrary to the MT accents, which take it with what precedes. In this case, one could translate the preceding line, “If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors.” If כִּמְעָט goes with the preceding line (following the MT accents), this expression highlights the idea that there would only be a few survivors (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:20; H. Zobel, TDOT 8:456). Israel would not be almost like Sodom but exactly like Sodom.
3 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Or “set apart,” cf. CEV “special.”
6 tn Heb “all who are written down for life in Jerusalem.” A city register is envisioned; everyone whose name appears on the roll will be spared. This group comprises the remnant of the city referred to earlier in the verse.
7 tn Or “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
8 tn Heb “house” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
9 tn Heb “on one who strikes him down.” This individual is the king (“foreign leader”) of the oppressing nation (which NLT specifies as “the Assyrians”).
10 tn Or “sincerely”; KJV, ASV, NAB, NRSV “in truth.”
11 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
12 tn The referent of אֵל גִּבּוֹר (’el gibbor, “mighty God”) is uncertain. The title appears only here and in 9:6, where it is one of the royal titles of the coming ideal Davidic king. (Similar titles appear in Deut 10:17 and Neh 9:32 [“the great, mighty, and awesome God”] and in Jer 32:18 [“the great and mighty God”]. Both titles refer to God.) Though Hos 3:5 pictures Israel someday seeking “David their king,” and provides some support for a messianic interpretation of Isa 10:21, the Davidic king is not mentioned in the immediate context of Isa 10:21 (see Isa 11, however). The preceding verse mentions Israel relying on the Lord, so it is likely that the title refers to God here.
13 tn Heb “are like.”
14 sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).
15 tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”
16 tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.
17 tn Or “is about to overflow.”
18 tn Grk “the days.”
19 tn Grk “firstfruits,” a term for the first part of something that has been set aside and offered to God before the remainder can be used.
20 sn Most interpreters see Paul as making use of a long-standing metaphor of the olive tree (the root…the branches) as a symbol for Israel. See, in this regard, Jer 11:16, 19. A. T. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 121-24, cites rabbinic use of the figure of the olive tree, and goes so far as to argue that Rom 11:17-24 is a midrash on Jer 11:16-19.
21 tn Grk “became a participant of.”
22 tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”
23 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
24 tn Grk “if you continue in (the) kindness.”
25 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
26 tn Or “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”
27 tn Grk “fullness.”
28 tn It is not clear whether the phrase καὶ οὕτως (kai Joutws, “and so”) is to be understood in a modal sense (“and in this way”) or in a temporal sense (“and in the end”). Neither interpretation is conclusive from a grammatical standpoint, and in fact the two may not be mutually exclusive. Some, like H. Hübner, who argue strongly against the temporal reading, nevertheless continue to give the phrase a temporal significance, saying that God will save all Israel in the end (Gottes Ich und Israel [FRLANT], 118).
29 sn A quotation from Isa 59:20-21.
30 sn A quotation from Isa 27:9; Jer 31:33-34.