The theme of comfort dominates this verse (compare 40.1; 49.13-15; 51.3). The mother figure changes from Jerusalem to Yahweh, who comforts his people.

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you: Just as a mother comforts her child, so Yahweh will bring comfort to his people in Jerusalem. He will fulfill the earlier promises of comfort made in this book. The Hebrew word for one is ʾish, which usually refers to an adult male. However, here it refers to any person. What is important in this comparison is the relationship between a mother and her child, no matter what the age or sex of the child is. I will comfort you is literally “I, I will comfort you.” The first Hebrew pronoun for “I” is emphatic. An equivalent in English for this clause is “I am the one who will comfort you” or “It is I, I am the one who….”

You shall be comforted in Jerusalem repeats the promise in the previous line, adding that it will come to the residents of Jerusalem. Here the city probably represents the whole nation of Judah.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Just as a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you will find comfort in Jerusalem.

• Like a mother comforting her children,
so I will comfort you;
you will be comforted in Jerusalem.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .