See Isaiah 40:9-10
Chapter 40
9
Go up onto the high mountain, messenger of good news to Zion, lift up your voice with strength, fear not to cry aloud when you tell Jerusalem and announce to the cities of Judah: Here is your God!
10
Here comes the Lord Sabaoth with might; his strong arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and here before him is his booty.
Commentaries
The Good News.
This poem serves as a prologue to “the Book of Consolation” or Deutero-Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55). It features a dialogue initiated by the Lord, who proclaims that the sentence of servitude and exile for His people has been fulfilled (1-2). His speakers are voices from the heavenly court, who question the prophet (3- 3.6). Verses 3-5 describe the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem as a new exodus; instead of taking the traditional routes through the Fertile Crescent, the Lord guides them through the desert (cf. Mt 3:3). The voices ask the prophet to deliver a message of comfort to Jerusalem: the Lord comes as a tender and compassionate shepherd (9-11 cf. Jn 10:11; 21:15-17).