2 Raja-raja 19:4

19:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. ¹  When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. ²  So pray for this remnant that remains.’” ³ 

Ezra 9:8

9:8 “But now briefly ⁴  we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position ⁵  in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes ⁶  and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude.

Nehemia 1:2

1:2 Hanani, who was one of my relatives, ⁷  along with some of the men from Judah, came to me, ⁸  and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem. ⁹ 

Yesaya 1:9

1:9 If the Lord who commands armies ¹⁰  had not left us a few survivors,

we would have quickly become like Sodom, ¹¹ 

we would have become like Gomorrah.

[19:4]  ¹ tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”

[19:4]  ² tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”

[19:4]  ³ tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”

[9:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “according to a little moment.”

[9:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “a peg” or “tent peg.” The imagery behind this word is drawn from the experience of nomads who put down pegs as they pitched their tents and made camp after times of travel.

[9:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “to cause our eyes to shine.” The expression is a figure of speech for “to revive.” See DCH 1:160 s.v. אור Hi.7.

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “brothers.”

[1:2]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text does not include the words “to me”; these words were supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:2]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:9]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” The title pictures God as the sovereign king who has at his disposal a multitude of attendants, messengers, and warriors to do his bidding. In some contexts, like this one, the military dimension of his rulership is highlighted. In this case, the title pictures him as one who leads armies into battle against his enemies.

[1:9]  ¹¹ tc The translation assumes that כִּמְעָט (kim’at, “quickly,” literally, “like a little”) goes with what follows, contrary to the MT accents, which take it with what precedes. In this case, one could translate the preceding line, “If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors.” If כִּמְעָט goes with the preceding line (following the MT accents), this expression highlights the idea that there would only be a few survivors (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:20; H. Zobel, TDOT 8:456). Israel would not be almost like Sodom but exactly like Sodom.