The assertion 'I first have declared it to Zion; and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings'—names Second Isaiah's own proclamation as the fulfillment of predictive prophecy. The direct statement that God has declared good news to Zion through the prophet validates the entire oracular enterprise: prophecy here is not speculation but God's word coming to realization. The focus on Jerusalem as the recipient of good tidings reestablishes covenant relationship at the center: restoration is first and foremost Zion's restoration. This verse claims that the prophecy itself is God's action, making the word the deed.

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