O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
O Zion, that bringest good things ... O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. The Vulgate, Chaldaic, Septuagint, and Arabic translate, 'O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion: thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem.' Thou that bringest good tidings ( mªbaseret (H1319): feminine singular, collectively for the plural) is thus the collective personification of the messengers who announce God's gracious purpose to Zion (note, Isaiah 40:1). Isaiah 52:7 confirms this. Compare Psalms 68:11 (Vulgate and Gesenius). If the English version be retained (as Syriac translates), the sense will be, The glad message was first to be proclaimed to Jerusalem, and then from it as the center to all "Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth" (Luke 24:47; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8) (Vitringa and Hengstenberg).
Mountain. It was customary for those who were about to promulge any great thing to ascend a hill from which they could be seen and heard by all (Judges 9:7; Matthew 5:1).
Be not afraid. To announce to the exiles their coming return home is attended with danger in the midst of the Babylonians. The Gospel minister must "open his mouth boldly" (Proverbs 29:25; Ephesians 6:19).
Behold your God! - especially at His second coming (Zechariah 12:10; Zechariah 14:5).