Isaiah 40:2

speak ye comfortably to Lit. "speak to the heart of." To "speak to one's own heart" is to whisper or meditate (1 Samuel 1:13); to speak to the heart of another is to soothe, or persuade, or comfort. For the meaning of the phrase, see Genesis 34:3; Jdg 19:3; 2 Samuel 19:7; Hosea 2:14; and esp. Genesis 50:21; and Ruth 2:13, where it is parallel to "comfort" as here.

Jerusalem an ideal representation of the people, like Zion in Isaiah 40:9; cf. Isaiah 49:14 ff., Isaiah 51:16 f., Isaiah 52:1 ff. Isaiah 52:7 ff. That there was an actual population in the ruined city during the Exile is of course not to be inferred from this figure. There are two standing personifications of Israel in this prophecy, the other being the "Servant of the Lord." These, however, are not interchangeable; Zion represents the nation on its receptive side; she is the mother of the people, the recipient of the blessings of salvation; while the Servant represents the historic Israel, past, present and future, in its religious aspect, with a Divine mission to fulfil for humanity.

her warfare is accomplished The word for "warfare" is that rendered "appointed time" in A.V. of Job 7:1; Job 14:14. It means properly a term of military service; then figuratively any period of irksome toil or endurance which a man longs to reach the end of; such as life itself had become to Job. The reference here is of course to the Exile. Render: time of service (R.V. marg.).

her iniquity(better, her guilt) is pardoned The expression for pardon is rare. The verb commonly means "to be pleased with"; in a few places it means (as here) "to pay off a debt to the satisfaction of the creditor" (see Leviticus 26:34; Leviticus 26:41; Leviticus 26:43, and cf. 2 Chronicles 36:21). For the idea see ch. Isaiah 50:1.

for she hath received … double i.e. "double penalty for her sins" (cf. Jeremiah 16:18; Jeremiah 17:18; Revelation 18:6), not "(she shallreceive) double favour for her previous punishment." It is difficult to say whether the clause is subordinate to the two preceding (as in A.V.) or co-ordinate with them, as in R.V. (reading that instead of for). The idea that Jerusalem's punishment had been greater than her sin required is not to be pressed theologically; but the idea that Jehovah's penal purpose can be satisfied by a temporary chastisement is of the essence of the O.T. notion of forgiveness. It must be remembered, however, that in the view of this prophet, Israel includes the Servant of Jehovah, and the unmerited sufferings of the Servant form the atoning element in the punishment which has fallen on the nation as a whole (ch. 53).