2 Chronicles 32:6

32:6 He appointed military officers over the army ¹  and assembled them in the square at the city gate. He encouraged them, ²  saying,

Isaiah 40:1-2

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your ³  God.

40:2 “Speak kindly to ⁴  Jerusalem, ⁵  and tell her

that her time of warfare is over, ⁶ 

that her punishment is completed. ⁷ 

For the Lord has made her pay double ⁸  for all her sins.”

Hosea 2:14

Future Repentance and Restoration of Israel

2:14 However, in the future I will allure her; ⁹ 

I will lead ¹⁰  her back into the wilderness,

and speak tenderly to her.

[32:6]  ¹ tn Heb “and he placed officers of war over the people.”

[32:6]  ² tn Heb “he spoke to their heart[s].”

[40:1]  ³ 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.

[40:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

[40:2]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[40:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.

[40:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

[40:2]  ⁸ 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).

[2:14]  ⁹ tn The participle מְפַתֶּיהָ (méfatteha, Piel participle masculine singular + 3rd feminine singular suffix from פָּתָה, patah, “to allure”) following the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “Now!”) describes an event that will occur in the immediate or near future.

[2:14]  ¹⁰ tn Following the future-time referent participle (מְפַתֶּיהָ, méfatteha) there is a string of perfects introduced by vav consecutive that refer to future events.