Yesaya 12:1

12:1 At that time ¹  you will say:

“I praise you, O Lord,

for even though you were angry with me,

your anger subsided, and you consoled me.

Yesaya 40:1-2

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your ²  God.

40:2 “Speak kindly to ³  Jerusalem, ⁴  and tell her

that her time of warfare is over, ⁵ 

that her punishment is completed. ⁶ 

For the Lord has made her pay double ⁷  for all her sins.”

Yesaya 51:3

51:3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;

he will console all her ruins.

He will make her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the Garden of the Lord.

Happiness and joy will be restored to ⁸  her,

thanksgiving and the sound of music.

Yesaya 61:2-3

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ⁹ 

to console all who mourn,

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ¹⁰  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ¹¹  instead of discouragement. ¹² 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ¹³ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 66:13-14

66:13 As a mother consoles a child, ¹⁵ 

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ¹⁶ 

and you will be revived. ¹⁷ 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ¹⁸ 

[12:1]  ¹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[40:1]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

[40:2]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[40:2]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

[40:2]  ⁷ 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).

[51:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[61:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

[61:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ¹² tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ¹³ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[66:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”

[66:14]  ¹⁶ tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

[66:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

[66:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”