Discovery BoxIsaiah 40:2 
Context40:2 “Speak kindly to 1 Jerusalem, 2 and tell her
that her time of warfare is over, 3
that her punishment is completed. 4
For the Lord has made her pay double 5 for all her sins.”
Isaiah 41:15
Context41:15 “Look, I am making you like 6 a sharp threshing sledge,
new and double-edged. 7
You will thresh the mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like straw. 8
1 tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.
2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
3 tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.
4 tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”
5 tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).
6 tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”
7 tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.
8 sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.
