Isaiah 1:9 (GNV)

Passage

Except the Lord of hostes had reserued vnto vs, euen a small remnant: we should haue bene as Sodom, and should haue bene like vnto Gomorah.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:7 Your land is waste: your cities are burnt with fire: strangers deuoure your lande in your presence, and it is desolate like the ouerthrowe of strangers.

Isaiah 1:8 And the daughter of Zion shall remaine like a cotage in a vineyarde, like a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and like a besieged citie.

Isaiah 1:9 Except the Lord of hostes had reserued vnto vs, euen a small remnant: we should haue bene as Sodom, and should haue bene like vnto Gomorah.

Isaiah 1:10 Heare the worde of the Lord, O princes of Sodom: hearken vnto the Law of our God, O people of Gomorah.

Isaiah 1:11 What haue I to doe with the multitude of your sacrifices, sayth the Lord? I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and of the fat of fed beasts: and I desire not the blood of bullocks, nor of lambs, nor of goates.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "except", "lord", "hostes", "reserued", "vnto", "euen", "small", and "remnant". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "except" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And the daughter of Zion shall remaine..." into verse 10's "Heare the worde of the Lord O...", so "except" and "lord" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "except" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.