The Meaning of Isaiah 40:2 Explained

Isaiah 40:2

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.

YLT: Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare hath been completed, That accepted hath been her punishment, That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.

Darby: Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her time of suffering is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.

ASV: Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 40:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jerusalem, the personification of God"s people, the Israelites, needed persuading to respond to the Lord"s love for her. Her lover had not cast her off. Judah"s period of educational discipline involving duress (the Babylonian Captivity) was over. Punishment for her iniquity (by the sacrifice of the Lord"s servant) had been accepted as satisfactory.
"Here is the first intimation of the truth to be more fully revealed in the fifty-third chapter of the book." [1]
Indeed, Israel had received a double pardon, by God"s grace (cf. Isaiah 61:7). She had also suffered a double penalty for her sins (cf. Isaiah 51:19). Paying back double may be an expression indicating proportionate payment, making the punishment equivalent to the crime. [2] Perhaps both thoughts, double and proportionate, are in view here.
"Jerusalem had not suffered more than its sins had deserved; but the compassion of God regarded what His justice had been obliged to inflict upon Jerusalem as superabundant." [3]
This verse is programmatic for chapters40-66 of Isaiah. Chapters40-48 assure that Judah"s captivity in Babylon will end, that "her warfare has ended." Chapters49-57 promise that God will provide a sacrifice for sin, that "her iniquity has been removed." And chapters58-66 guarantee that Israel will receive her promised kingdom blessings, that "she has received of the LORD"s hand double for all her sins." Throughout, deliverance is in view. [4]
". . . no one will ever reverence God but him who trusts that God is propitious toward him." [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 40:1-8 - The Cry Of Jehovah's Herald
Voices are ever speaking to us from the infinite; let us heed them.
(1.) There is the voice of forgiveness, Isaiah 40:2. Are you truly penitent? Have you put away your sin? Have you meekly accepted the chastening rod? Then be of good cheer, this promise is for you. The time of hard service as a conscript (the literal rendering) is accomplished, your iniquity is pardoned, you have received double for all your sins. God speaks comfortably to your heart, that you may be able to comfort others as He does you, 2 Corinthians 1:4.
(2.) The voice of deliverance, Isaiah 40:3-4. Between Babylon and Canaan lay a great desert of thirty days' journey with mountain ranges, yawning gulfs. But when God arises to deliver His children, "who cry day and night unto Him," crooked places straighten out, rough ones become smooth, and mountains disappear.
(3.) The voices of decay, Isaiah 40:6-8. The one herald, speaking from his observation of human mortality, describes man and his glory as the "flower of the field." But in contrast to this, another voice seems to break in with the eternal word of God, which stands forever. The precepts, promises, and invitations of the gospel are as sure as God's throne, 1 Peter 1:25. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 40

1  The promulgation of the Gospel
3  The preaching of John Baptist foretold
9  The preaching of the apostles foretold
12  The prophet, by the omnipotence of God
18  And his incomparableness
26  Comforts the people

What do the individual words in Isaiah 40:2 mean?

Speak upon comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her that is ended her warfare is pardoned her iniquity for she has received from the hand of Yahweh Double for all her sins -
דַּבְּר֞וּ עַל־ לֵ֤ב יְרֽוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ וְקִרְא֣וּ אֵלֶ֔יהָ כִּ֤י מָֽלְאָה֙ צְבָאָ֔הּ נִרְצָ֖ה עֲוֺנָ֑הּ כִּ֤י לָקְחָה֙ מִיַּ֣ד יְהוָ֔ה כִּפְלַ֖יִם בְּכָל־ חַטֹּאתֶֽיהָ ס

דַּבְּר֞וּ  Speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
לֵ֤ב  comfort 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
יְרֽוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙  to  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
וְקִרְא֣וּ  and  cry  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
אֵלֶ֔יהָ  to  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
כִּ֤י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
מָֽלְאָה֙  is  ended 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
צְבָאָ֔הּ  her  warfare 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
נִרְצָ֖ה  is  pardoned 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָצָא 
Sense: to be pleased with, be favourable to, accept favourably.
עֲוֺנָ֑הּ  her  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
לָקְחָה֙  she  has  received 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
מִיַּ֣ד  from  the  hand 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
יְהוָ֔ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
כִּפְלַ֖יִם  Double 
Parse: Noun, md
Root: כֶּפֶל  
Sense: double, a doubling.
בְּכָל־  for  all 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
חַטֹּאתֶֽיהָ  her  sins 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation