“The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.”
Your punishment is completed, daughter of Zion; he will keep you in exile no longer; but your iniquity, daughter of Edom, he will punish, and he will expose your sins—the final verse promises that Jerusalem's punishment is completed and will come to an end; God will not keep the people in exile forever. The assertion of completed punishment suggests that God's wrath is exhaustible; judgment has a duration and an endpoint. Theologically, the verse represents a turn toward hope: while judgment has come, it is not eternal. The promise that God "will keep you in exile no longer" suggests future restoration; exile has a time limit. The contrast with Edom (whose punishment is just beginning) suggests that Israel's punishment is ending while the nations' judgment continues. The verse ends the fourth chapter with a note of hope: judgment is completed, restoration awaits. This verse provides the theological bridge between judgment and the final chapter's petition for restoration.
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