Isaiah 40:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord 's hand double for all her sins.

NIV: Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

NASB: 'Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her guilt has been removed, That she has received of the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.'

CSB: "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of forced labor is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins."

NLT: 'Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.'

KJV: Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord'S hand double for all her sins.

NKJV: “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.”

Isaiah 40:1–8 opens with the Lord's command to bring comfort to His people in exile (Isaiah 40:1–2). Their time of punishment is ending, and their sins have been forgiven. The "voice" leading people towards the Lord through the wilderness is a reference to John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1–4; John 1:23). Isaiah then contrasts the brevity of human life with the enduring word of the Lord, a contrast the apostle Peter draws on directly in his first letter (Isaiah 40:6–8; 1 Peter 1:24–25).

The tone of Isaiah's book shifts dramatically beginning with this chapter. God calls Isaiah and other voices to comfort His people and proclaim a time of peace and forgiven sins. Human life is short, but God's word is forever, and He is coming to save and shepherd His people. Nobody is like God, and the nations are nothing to Him. An idol cannot capture His likeness. He exists beyond the heavens, which He made and knows perfectly. Isaiah rejects the complaint that God does not see His people. Those who trust Him will never lack for strength and support.

Isaiah 40 begins the second half of Isaiah's epic book of prophecy. The prior section detoured to describe events in the life of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). Now, God shouts out comfort and promises of restoration for His people. The Creator who made everything in the heavens knows our circumstances. He will rescue those who trust in Him. Upcoming passages will focus on Israel's future restoration. Included in those verses are references to the hopeful figure of the Messiah.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).