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.

ISAIAH 1:9KJV
Know the Bible

Isaiah 1:9 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 1:9 mean?

Isaiah 1:9 says that if the LORD of hosts had not left a very small group of survivors, the people of Judah would have been completely destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. The verse highlights how close the nation came to total ruin, saved only by God’s mercy in preserving a remnant.

The prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Judah, warning them about the seriousness of their rebellion against God. He compares their situation to the infamous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were wiped out for their wickedness. Isaiah’s message is that Judah’s survival is not due to their own goodness, but only because God chose to spare a small group.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 1:9

  • "LORD" (יְהוָה, Yahweh): This is the personal name for God, emphasizing His authority and covenant relationship with Israel. Using "LORD of hosts" (Yahweh of armies) underlines God’s power to judge or save.
  • "remnant" (שָׂרִיד, sarid): This word means a survivor or someone left over after disaster. Its use here stresses that only a tiny group escaped destruction, not the whole nation.
  • "small" (מְעָט, me'at): This word means "very few" or "scarcely any." Isaiah emphasizes just how close Judah came to being wiped out entirely.

Why Isaiah 1:9 matters

  • Isaiah 1:9 clarifies that Judah’s continued existence is not a sign of their righteousness, but of God’s mercy in preserving a remnant.
  • The comparison to Sodom and Gomorrah shows the seriousness of Judah’s sin and the real threat of total judgment.
  • This verse sets up a major theme in Isaiah and the rest of the Bible: God’s pattern of preserving a faithful remnant even in times of widespread judgment.

Where else these words appear

“Except” Hebrew H3884 · used in 14 verses

  • Genesis 31:42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
  • 1 Samuel 25:34 For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
  • Psalms 94:17 Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

“Gomorrah” Hebrew H6017 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 10:19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
  • Genesis 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
  • Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

“like” Hebrew H1819 · used in 27 verses

  • Numbers 33:56 Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.
  • Psalms 144:4 Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.
  • Isaiah 40:18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

“remnant” Hebrew H8300 · used in 28 verses

  • Numbers 21:35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.
  • Joshua 10:37 And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
  • Job 27:15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.