Isaiah 40:2

“Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, &c.] Or, “speak to or according to the heart of Jerusalemf760”; to her very heart, what will be a cordial to her, very acceptable, grateful, and comfortable; and let it be proclaimed aloud, that she may hear and understand it. By “Jerusalem” is meant the Gospel church, and the true members of it. Aben Ezra interprets it of the congregation of Israel; (see <581222>Hebrews 12:22): that her warfare is accomplished; this life is a warfare; saints have many enemies to engage with, sin, Satan, and the world; many battles to fight, a great fight of afflictions, and the good fight of faith: this is “accomplished”, or “filled upf761”; not that it…”

“comfortably--literally, "to the heart"; not merely to the intellect. Jerusalem--Jerusalem though then in ruins, regarded by God as about to be rebuilt; her people are chiefly meant, but the city is personified. cry--publicly and emphatically as a herald cries aloud (Isa 40:3). warfare--or, the appointed time of her misery (Job 7:1, Margin; Job 14:14; Dan 10:1). The ulterior and Messianic reference probably is the definite time when the legal economy of burdensome rites is at an end (Gal 4:3-4). pardoned--The Hebrew expresses that her iniquity is so expiated that God now delights in restoring her. double for all her sins--This can only, in a very restricted sense, hold good of Judah's…”

“Speak ye comfortably - Hebrew, על־לב ‛al-lēb as in the margin, ‘To the heart.’ The heart is the seat of the affections. It is there that sorrow and joy are felt. We are oppressed there with grief, and we speak familiarly of being pained at the heart and of being of a glad or merry heart. To speak ‘to the heart,’ is to speak in such a way as to remove the troubles of the heart; to furnish consolation, and joy. It means that they were not merely to urge such topics as should convince the understanding, but such also as should be adopted to minister consolation to the heart. So the word is used in Genesis 34:3 : ‘And his soul clave unto Dinah - and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly…”

“Warfare - The time of her captivity, and misery. Double - Not twice as much as her sins deserved, but abundantly enough to answer God's design in this chastisement, which was to humble and reform them, and to warn others by their example. Isaiah 40:3”

“40:2 Speak tenderly: The prophet’s message was to encourage Jerusalem with the good news of God’s forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration. • From the prophetic perspective, Israel’s sad days are gone because the Exile is over. • punished her twice over for all her sins: Israel experienced the full brunt of God’s wrath (51:19-23; cp. 61:7).”

“comfortably: Heb. to the heart, Gen 34:3; Ch2 30:22; Hos 2:14 \*marg. warfare: or, appointed time, Psa. 102:13-28; Sol 2:11-13; Jer 29:11; Dan 9:2, Dan 9:24-27, Dan 11:35, Dan 12:4, Dan 12:9; Hab 2:3; Act 1:7; Gal 4:4; Rev 6:10, Rev 6:11, Rev 11:15-18 that her iniquity: Isa 12:1, Isa 33:24, Isa 43:25, Isa 44:22, Isa 61:7; Psa 32:1; Jer 31:33, Jer 31:34, Jer 33:8, Jer 33:9; Co1 6:9-11 double: Isa 61:7; Job 42:10-12; Jer 16:18, Jer 17:18; Dan 9:12; Zac 1:15, Zac 9:12; Rev 18:6 Isaiah 40:3”

“The summons is now repeated with still greater emphasis, the substance of the consoling proclamation being also given. "Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her affliction is ended, that her debt is paid, that she has received from the hand of Jehovah double for all her sins." The holy city is thought of here in connection with the population belonging to it. על־לב דּבּר (to speak to the heart) is an expression applied in Gen 34:3 and Jdg 19:3 to words adapted to win the heart; in Gen 50:21, to the words used by Joseph to inspire his brethren with confidence; whilst here it is used in precisely the same sense as in Hos 2:16, and possibly not without a reminiscence of…”