In this haftara, the prophet copes with the desperation and absence of hope for the future, which are created in the reality of exile. The literary device used to describe this state is the metaphor of infertility. The comfort of the present reality does not alleviate the distress of their future futility as a nation. The prophet offers comfort by making the future redemption more tangible. The haftara ends with God's promise that the covenant will always be valid, and never reconsidered.

Courtesy of the Virtual Beit Midrash, Yeshivat Har Etzion