Isaiah 40:1 (ASV)

Passage

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Isaiah 40:2 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.

Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "comfort", "people", and "saith". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "comfort" and "people", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry...", so "comfort" and "people" should be read forward into that movement. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "comfort" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.