40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your 1 God.
41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence,” 2 says Jacob’s king. 3
1 tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural. The identity of the addressee is uncertain: (1) God’s people may be addressed, or (2) the unidentified heralds commanded to comfort Jerusalem.
2 tn Heb “strong [words],” see HALOT 870 s.v. *עֲצֻמוֹת.
3 sn Apparently this challenge is addressed to the pagan idol gods, see vv. 23-24.