But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

ISAIAH 6:13KJV
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Isaiah 6:13 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 6:13 mean?

Isaiah 6:13 says that even after most of the people are removed or destroyed, a small part—a tenth—will remain, but even this remnant will face hardship. Yet, just as certain trees have a stump left after being cut down, this remaining part (called the "holy seed") will be like a living root or foundation for the future.

Isaiah is speaking after seeing a vision of God, describing what will happen to the people of Judah because of their unfaithfulness. God tells Isaiah that judgment will come, leaving only a small group behind. The verse uses the image of trees like the teil and the oak, which can regrow from their stumps, to show that hope and new life will come from what remains, even after severe loss.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 6:13

  • "tenth" (עֲשִׂרִי, ʿăśîrî): This word means a tenth part, highlighting that only a small fraction of the people will be left after judgment.
  • "substance" (מַצֶּבֶת, matzevet): This word refers to a stump or what remains after a tree is cut down. It shows that the remnant is not just leftover, but a living base from which new growth can come.
  • "holy" (קָדוֹשׁ, qādôsh) and "seed" (זֶרַע, zeraʿ): These words together ("holy seed") mean that the surviving remnant has a special, set-apart role in God's plan, like seeds that will grow again.

Why Isaiah 6:13 matters

  • Isaiah 6:13 clarifies that God's judgment is not total destruction; there is always a remnant left with the potential for renewal.
  • The verse uses the image of tree stumps to show that what looks like an ending can actually be a new beginning, which is a theme that runs through Isaiah.
  • This verse helps explain why, even in times of disaster and loss, the story of God's people continues, rooted in those who remain faithful.

Where else these words appear

“substance” Hebrew H4678 · used in 4 verses

  • Genesis 35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
  • Genesis 35:20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
  • 2 Samuel 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.

“oak” Hebrew H437 · used in 8 verses

  • Genesis 35:8 But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.
  • Isaiah 44:14 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
  • Hosea 4:13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.

“tree” Hebrew H424 · used in 12 verses

  • Genesis 35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
  • 2 Samuel 18:9 And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
  • 1 Chronicles 10:12 They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

“tenth” Hebrew H6224 · used in 26 verses

  • Genesis 8:5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
  • Deuteronomy 23:2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
  • Esther 2:16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.