1:9 If the Lord who commands armies 3 had not left us a few survivors,
we would have quickly become like Sodom, 4
we would have become like Gomorrah.
6:8 “‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands. 18
2:32 It will so happen that
everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. 19
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem 20 there will be those who survive, 21
just as the Lord has promised;
the remnant 22 will be those whom the Lord will call. 23
5:15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right!
Promote 24 justice at the city gate! 25
Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on 26 those who are left from 27 Joseph. 28
2:12 I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. 29
I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, 30
like a flock in the middle of a pasture; 31
they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. 32
7:18 There is no other God like you! 33
You 34 forgive sin
and pardon 35 the rebellion
of those who remain among your people. 36
You do not remain angry forever, 37
but delight in showing loyal love.
2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel,
“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.
They will be overrun by weeds, 38
filled with salt pits, 39
and permanently desolate.
Those of my people who are left 40 will plunder their belongings; 41
those who are left in Judah 42 will take possession of their land.”
3:13 The Israelites who remain 43 will not act deceitfully.
They will not lie,
and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.
Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep 44 and lie down;
no one will terrify them.”
9:27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children 45 of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved,
11:5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
1 tn Heb “my sheep.”
2 tn Heb “their fold.”
3 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.
4 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.
5 tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
6 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
7 tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).
8 tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”
9 tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”
10 sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).
11 tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).
12 tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).
13 tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”
14 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
15 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
16 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
17 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
18 tn Heb “when you have fugitives from the sword among the nations, when you are scattered among the lands.”
19 tn While a number of English versions render this as “saved” (e.g., NIV, NRSV, NLT), this can suggest a “spiritual” or “theological” salvation rather than the physical deliverance from the cataclysmic events of the day of the Lord described in the context.
20 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
21 tn Heb “deliverance”; or “escape.” The abstract noun “deliverance” or “escape” probably functions here as an example of antimeria, referring to those who experience deliverance or escape with their lives: “escaped remnant” or “surviving remnant” (Gen 32:8; 45:7; Judg 21:17; 2 Kgs 19:30, 31; Isa 4:2; 10:20; 15:9; 37:31, 32; Ezek 14:22; Obad 1:17; Ezra 9:8, 13-15; Neh 1:2; 1 Chr 4:43; 2 Chr 30:6).
22 tn Heb “and among the remnant.”
23 tn The participle used in the Hebrew text seems to indicate action in the imminent future.
24 tn Heb “set up, establish.” In the ancient Near East it was the responsibility especially of the king to establish justice. Here the prophet extends that demand to local leaders and to the nation as a whole (cf. 5:24).
25 sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate (see the note in v. 12). This repetition of this phrase serves to highlight a deliberate contrast to the injustices cited in vv. 11-13.
26 tn Or “will show favor to.”
27 tn Or “the remnant of” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “what’s left of your people.”
28 sn Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
29 tn Heb “the remnant of Israel.”
30 tc The MT reads בָּצְרָה (batsrah, “Bozrah”) but the form should be emended to בַּצִּרָה (batsirah, “into the fold”). See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 38.
31 tc The MT reads “its pasture,” but the final vav (ו) belongs with the following verb. See GKC 413 §127.i.
32 tn Heb “and they will be noisy [or perhaps, “excited”] from men.” The subject of the third feminine plural verb תְּהִימֶנָה (tÿhimenah, “they will be noisy”) is probably the feminine singular צֹאן (tso’n, “flock”). (For another example of this collective singular noun with a feminine plural verb, see Gen 30:38.) In the construction מֵאָדָם (me’adam, “from men”) the preposition is probably causal. L. C. Allen translates “bleating in fear of men” (Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah [NICOT], 300), but it is possible to take the causal sense as “because of the large quantity of men.” In this case the sheep metaphor and the underlying reality are mixed.
33 tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”
34 tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.
35 tn Heb “pass over.”
36 tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”
37 tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”
38 tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”
39 tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.
40 tn Or “The remnant of my people.”
41 tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.
43 tn Or “the remnant of Israel.”
44 tn The words “peacefully like sheep” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
45 tn Grk “sons.”