Isaiah 40:2

40:2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her

that her time of warfare is over,

that her punishment is completed.

For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”

Isaiah 66:12

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks.

You will nurse from her breast and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.


tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.

tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

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).

tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).