Isaiah 40:2 (DRB)

Passage

Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:1 Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.

Isaiah 40:2 Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.

Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "speak", "heart", "jerusalem", "call", "evil", "come", "iniquity", and "forgiven". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "speak" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Be comforted be comforted my people saith..." into verse 3's "The voice of one crying in the...", so "speak" and "heart" belong inside that flow. 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 "speak" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.