This verse continues the picture of devastation, but a ray of hope is added. It has several textual as well as exegetical problems, which are discussed below.
And though a tenth remain in it: And though may be rendered “Even if” (Good News Translation) or “Suppose” since the Hebrew particle here introduces the possibility that some people or something might be left behind (remain) after the destruction. A tenth refers to a tenth of the population according to Good News Translation, but it may also mean “a tenth of the land area” according to some commentators. The pronoun it in the phrase in it refers to the land.
It will be burned again …: If the condition mentioned in the previous clause is fulfilled, then this new course of action will follow. The Hebrew here is difficult and several interpretations are possible. According to Revised Standard Version, the pronoun it refers to the land, its towns, and its people; they will be burned again. New International Version is similar to Revised Standard Version by speaking of a second destruction of the land, saying “it will again be laid waste.” It then compares this to stumps that remain standing after the trees have been cut down. This links smoothly with the last line of the verse. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh is very similar. But according to Good News Translation, the pronoun it refers to the last tenth: even the survivors will be destroyed. They will be like a stump of a tree that has been cut down. New Jerusalem Bible is similar, but notes that the meaning of the verse is difficult to determine precisely. Bible en français courant and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch follow the view that the tenth will be destroyed, but the survivors are compared to shoots that sprout from the stump of a tree that has been cut down; they too will be destroyed. Even though these versions make the comparison with the shoots, they keep the idea of the stump, so that there is a link with the last line of the verse. For the first five lines of this verse Bible en français courant (1997) has “Even if a tenth escapes the disaster, it, in its turn, will suffer the fate of the shoots that grow from the stump of an oak or a terebinth that was cut down: they are thrown into the fire.”
De~Waard notes that the interpretation of the verse has been a problem for centuries, partly because the Hebrew verb rendered be burned can also be translated “be destroyed” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible) or “be laid waste” (New International Version). He further notes that no translation can be considered the only possible and correct one. Since this is true, translators may follow the interpretation adopted in the translation familiar in their area.
Will be burned may be rendered as an active verb by making Yahweh the subject (see the third example below).
Again renders the Hebrew verb meaning “to return.” Here it is used in the sense of a repeated action. However, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders it as “it [the people] shall repent,” which is another meaning of the verb. This translation seems to be in conflict with the general context of the passage.
Like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains standing when it is felled: Terebinth and oak are two varieties of tree found in Israel. They are both large trees. For oak see the comments on 1.29. Translators may choose two other large trees to render the sense here, provided that they are trees that might grow in Israel. Otherwise the best thing to do is to render these lines as “like a large tree whose stump remains after it is cut down.” Good News Translation omits the reference to the terebinth and speaks only of the oak tree.
The holy seed is its stump: Good News Translation renders this brief and puzzling statement as “The stump represents a new beginning for God’s people.” Good News Translation views it as a digression, so it places it in a new paragraph between parentheses. This way of handling the sentence suggests that it is an afterthought coming from the prophet. New American Bible treats it similarly. The sentence is not found in some Septuagint manuscripts, but de~Waard considers this to be a textual omission. He advises that it should be translated as part of the verse (also Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). New English Bible omits this sentence, but Revised English Bible has restored it to the text: “Its stump is a holy seed.”
The stump of the tree is the part of the tree that remains after it has been cut down. Here it represents future hope since sprouts might grow from it. However, there is some question about the meaning of the Hebrew word translated stump. The term is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament. Some believe it means “bare trunk,” that is, a tree whose branches have been cut off. It is not possible to be absolutely certain about its meaning.
The holy seed is the sprouts of the stump. This probably refers to a remnant of the people of Israel and Judah that will survive the coming disasters. Here the word holy has its basic meaning of “being set apart,” so these people are special. Contemporary English Version calls them “my chosen ones.” Seed is often a figure for descendants, which is true here. Rather than use the verb is to show the relationship between the seed and the stump, it may be better to say “grows out of.” This indicates that the stump will send out new shoots, that is, its seed. Bible en français courant and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch end the verse with translations that some might call paraphrases. They are useful in that they offer us the deeper meaning of the text. Bible en français courant (1997) says “But this stump is the divine pledge to a new beginning,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “The stump remains, however, and out of the stump new life will sprout, to God’s glory.” Earlier in the verse Yahweh says the stump was burned, so there is no future for it. Thus it seems best to regard this last line as quite independent of the previous picture and treat it as a parenthesis.
For translation it may be best to retain the figurative language of the last line rather than go as far as Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch have done. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “its stump shall be a holy seed.” However, this does not seem particularly meaningful.
Translation suggestions for this verse are:
• Even if there is only a tenth of the people left [in the land],
they will be burned again just like a tree stump left after the tree is felled is burned.”
(But special shoots will grow from that stump.)
• Suppose there are only ten percent of the people left there,
they will be destroyed like a terebinth or an oak tree
whose stump is burned after the tree is cut down.”
(A holy people will grow from that stump.)
• Even if only one tenth of the population remains,
I will set fire to them again,
just as a tree stump is burned to remove it fully.”
Holy people will come from that stump.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .