Isaiah 1:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

NIV: Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.

NASB: If the Lord of armies Had not left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.

CSB: If the Lord of Armies had not left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom, we would resemble Gomorrah.

NLT: If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.

The Lord's response toward those who continue in ongoing sinful rebellion against Him is to utterly wipe them from the face of the earth. The classic example of this used throughout the Bible is the story of the sinful people of the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham's day (Genesis 18:16–19:28).

In addition to the scene of attempted homosexual rape of two angels by a mob described in Genesis, God held other sins against Sodom's people: "She and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it" (Ezekiel 16:49–50).

As Peter wrote in 2 Peter 2:6, God rightly condemned Sodom and Gomorrah to extinction for these sins. Isaiah adds in this verse that the same fate would have come on Judah if the Lord had not left a few survivors from the coming destruction of Israel. Isaiah speaks in the present tense about something that will come on Judah later. This is likely referring to the invasion by the Babylonians in 586 BC

Paul quotes this verse in Romans 9:29, describing as Isaiah does that God, in His grace and mercy, allowed a remnant of Israelites to survive then and another remnant later to be saved by faith in Jesus.

Isaiah 1:2–20 begins a presentation somewhat like a lawsuit against the people of Judah in Israel. The Lord will show many of the ways they have broken their covenant with Him. The people are saturated with sin. They have forsaken Him. Isaiah describes a spiritual sickness Israel refuses to treat. It will lead to their physical destruction by enemy invaders. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful rebellion. God calls them to stop sinning and to do good. He offers to make their sins white as snow if they repent and to consume them if they rebel.

After identifying himself as the son of Amoz, Isaiah begins his vision from the Lord with the introduction of God's lawsuit against the people of Israel. His children are living in rebellion against Him. They are saturated in sin and have forsaken the Lord. Their spiritual sickness will lead to their destruction, though a few will be saved. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful lifestyles. If they repent now, they will be redeemed. If not, they will be destroyed. The Lord will restore justice to once righteous Jerusalem. All who do not repent will be consumed.

Isaiah 1 begins Isaiah's massive book of prophecy with the Lord presenting a lawsuit against His people Israel in Judah for breach of covenant. They live in rebellion against Him and are saturated in sin. They refuse to treat their spiritual illness and will be decimated by their enemies. Their offerings are meaningless. They must stop doing evil and start doing what is good. The Lord will burn off the corrupt from Jerusalem and return it to a place of justice and righteousness. Those who refuse to repent will be broken and destroyed.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).