Bible Strands
Isaiah 10:19
The remaining trees of its forests will be so few that a child could count them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the house of Jacob and the remnant of Israel during a prophetic declaration of impending judgment on Assyria. The moment marks the transition from national pride to the reality of divine destruction.
The words — שְׁאָר (she'ar) denotes the "remnant" or "remaining" portion, while יִכְתֹּבֵם (yikh'tovehem) literally means "he will count" or "record" them. These terms ground the prophecy in measurable reduction rather than abstract loss.
The thread — The motif of a drastically reduced remnant appears in Isaiah 21:17 regarding the warriors of Kedar and Isaiah 37:36 where the Assyrian camp is struck down. The immediate context in Isaiah 10:18 and 10:20 frames this scarcity as the aftermath of divine judgment and the catalyst for renewed dependence on God.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that human military power will be reduced to a countable few. It requires the reader to accept that survival depends on recognizing divine action rather than relying on former oppressors.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 21:17 The remaining archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.
- Isaiah 37:36 Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!