Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:20-22 
Context10:20 At that time 1 those left in Israel, those who remain of the family 2 of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. 3 Instead they will truly 4 rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 5 10:21 A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 6 10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as 7 the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. 8 Destruction has been decreed; 9 just punishment 10 is about to engulf you. 11
1 tn Or “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
2 tn Heb “house” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
3 tn Heb “on one who strikes him down.” This individual is the king (“foreign leader”) of the oppressing nation (which NLT specifies as “the Assyrians”).
4 tn Or “sincerely”; KJV, ASV, NAB, NRSV “in truth.”
5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
6 tn The referent of אֵל גִּבּוֹר (’el gibbor, “mighty God”) is uncertain. The title appears only here and in 9:6, where it is one of the royal titles of the coming ideal Davidic king. (Similar titles appear in Deut 10:17 and Neh 9:32 [“the great, mighty, and awesome God”] and in Jer 32:18 [“the great and mighty God”]. Both titles refer to God.) Though Hos 3:5 pictures Israel someday seeking “David their king,” and provides some support for a messianic interpretation of Isa 10:21, the Davidic king is not mentioned in the immediate context of Isa 10:21 (see Isa 11, however). The preceding verse mentions Israel relying on the Lord, so it is likely that the title refers to God here.
7 tn Heb “are like.”
8 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).
9 tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”
10 tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.
11 tn Or “is about to overflow.”
