A remnant will return; yes, the remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.
Parallel translations
- WEB A remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
- KJV The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
- BSB A remnant will return—a remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God.
- NKJV The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God.
- NASB A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A remnant of Jacob will return to the mighty God. Out of judgment God preserves a believing people.
Overview
This verse echoes the name of Isaiah's son Shear-jashub ('a remnant shall return,' 7:3). Beyond geographic return from exile, it signals spiritual return to 'the mighty God' — a title Isaiah also gives to the coming Messiah (9:6). The remnant theme assures that God's covenant purposes never fail even amid devastating discipline.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 9:6For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- 2 Cor 3:14–16But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away.
- Acts 26:20but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
- Isa 65:8–9Yahweh says, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’ so will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all.
- Isa 19:22Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing. They will return to Yahweh, and he will be entreated by them, and will heal them.
- Hos 14:1Israel, return to Yahweh your God; for you have fallen because of your sin.
- Hos 7:16They return, but not to the Most High. They are like a faulty bow. Their princes will fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue. This will be their derision in the land of Egypt.
- Hos 7:10The pride of Israel testifies to his face; yet they haven’t returned to Yahweh their God, nor sought him, for all this.
- Isa 9:13Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought Yahweh of Armies.
- Isa 55:7Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
- Isa 7:3Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field.
- Hos 6:1“Come, and let us return to Yahweh; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us; he has injured us, and he will bind up our wounds.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 10:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.