Isaiah 1:9

Israel and the nations Hope God's faithfulness

⁷ Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you— a desolation demolished by strangers.

⁸ And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a city besieged.

Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.

¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

¹¹ “What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled 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.
WEB: Unless the LORD of Armies had left to us a very small remnant, we would have been as Sodom. We would have been like Gomorrah.
ASV: Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
DARBY: Unless Jehovah of hosts had left us a very small residue, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
BLB: Unless YHWH of Hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.

ÅB: Hadde ikke Herren, hærskarenes Gud, levnet oss en liten rest, da var vi som Sodoma, da lignet vi Gomorra.
OTB: Hadde ikke Herren, hærskarenes Gud, latt oss få noen få overlevende, ville vi ha blitt som Sodoma, vi ville ha vært som Gomorra.
B1930: Hadde ikke Herren, hærskarenes Gud, levnet oss en liten rest, da var vi som Sodoma, da lignet vi Gomorra.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Romans 9:29
It is just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.”
Read in context
Isaiah 37:31–32
And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above.
Read in context
Genesis 19:24
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
Read in context
Lamentations 3:22
Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
Read in context
Romans 11:4–6
And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
Read in context
Amos 4:11
“Some of you I overthrew as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:20–22
On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
Read in context
Genesis 18:32
Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
Read in context