Bible Strands
Isaiah 40:2
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God (v. 1) commands the messengers to address Jerusalem. The moment is the hinge between the book's first half (judgment, chs. 1–39) and its second half (comfort, ch. 40 onward).
The words — מָלְאָה (male'ah), "it has been filled/completed," carries the sense of a fixed term reaching its limit; the service is done, not merely forgiven.
The thread — The "double" payment echoes Zechariah 9:12 and Isaiah 61:7; the command to "speak tenderly" mirrors Hosea 2:14.
Why it lands — The verse treats punishment as a bounded quantity, not an open-ended debt; the reader is asked to test whether they are still living as if the term has not run out.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Zechariah 9:12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double.
- Isaiah 61:7 Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
- Hosea 2:14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly.
- Jeremiah 33:8 And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
- Revelation 18:6 Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
- Isaiah 43:25 I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Song of Solomon 2:11 For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.
- Isaiah 44:22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
- Jeremiah 16:18 And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”
- Isaiah 35:4 Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”