Divine Council Commands Israel's Restoration

Isaiah 40 opens with comfort, comfort my people. In English that sounds like God talking to himself, or to the prophet.
In Hebrew the imperatives are plural. God is addressing a group. It is a council meeting - he is commanding members of his heavenly host to comfort Jerusalem, because he is about to act and release the people from exile.
That is what the divine council is for. Not a debating chamber, but the room where God announces and delegates what he is doing in history.
Psalm 82 shows the same court in a darker session, where members who failed the nations are judged. Comfort and judgment are handed down in the same place.
Scripture links:
- Isaiah 40:1-3 - comfort my people, says your God, with the imperatives in the plural.
- Psalm 82 - God takes his place in the divine council.
When God moves in history, he says so out loud, in front of witnesses.