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 40:9
Context40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! 6
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
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 The second feminine singular imperatives are addressed to personified Zion/Jerusalem, who is here told to ascend a high hill and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s return to the other towns of Judah. Isa 41:27 and 52:7 speak of a herald sent to Zion, but the masculine singular form מְבַשֵּׂר (mÿvaser) is used in these verses, in contrast to the feminine singular form מְבַשֶּׂרֶת (mÿvaseret) employed in 40:9, where Zion is addressed as a herald.
