Isaiah 10:22

10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as ¹  the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. ²  Destruction has been decreed; ³  just punishment ⁴  is about to engulf you. ⁵ 

Isaiah 41:15

41:15 “Look, I am making you like ⁶  a sharp threshing sledge,

new and double-edged. ⁷ 

You will thresh the mountains and crush them;

you will make the hills like straw. ⁸ 

[10:22]  ¹ tn Heb “are like.”

[10:22]  ² 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).

[10:22]  ³ tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”

[10:22]  ⁴ tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.

[10:22]  ⁵ tn Or “is about to overflow.”

[41:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”

[41:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.

[41:15]  ⁸ sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.