Isaiah 61

New International Version

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61 The Spirit^(A) of the Sovereign Lord^(B) is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed^(C) me
    to proclaim good news^(D) to the poor.^(E)
He has sent me to bind up^(F) the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom^(G) for the captives^(H)
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]
²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor^(I)
    and the day of vengeance^(J) of our God,
to comfort^(K) all who mourn,^(L)
³    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown^(M) of beauty
    instead of ashes,^(N)
the oil^(O) of joy
    instead of mourning,^(P)
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting^(Q) of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.^(R)

⁴They will rebuild the ancient ruins^(S)
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.
⁵Strangers^(T) will shepherd your flocks;
    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
⁶And you will be called priests^(U) of the Lord,
    you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth^(V) of nations,
    and in their riches you will boast.

⁷Instead of your shame^(W)
    you will receive a double^(X) portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit^(Y) a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy^(Z) will be yours.

⁸“For I, the Lord, love justice;^(AA)
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
    and make an everlasting covenant^(AB) with them.
⁹Their descendants^(AC) will be known among the nations
    and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
    that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”^(AD)

¹⁰I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices^(AE) in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,^(AF)
as a bridegroom adorns his head^(AG) like a priest,
    and as a bride^(AH) adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹For as the soil makes the sprout come up
    and a garden^(AI) causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness^(AJ)
    and praise spring up before all nations.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 61:1 Hebrew; Septuagint the blind

Luke 1:67-80

New International Version

Zechariah’s Song

⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit^(A) and prophesied:^(B)

⁶⁸“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,^(C)
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.^(D)
⁶⁹He has raised up a horn^[a]^(E) of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David^(F)
⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),^(G)
⁷¹salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷²to show mercy to our ancestors^(H)
    and to remember his holy covenant,^(I)
⁷³    the oath he swore to our father Abraham:^(J)
⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him^(K) without fear^(L)
⁷⁵    in holiness and righteousness^(M) before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet^(N) of the Most High;^(O)
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,^(P)
⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,^(Q)
⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun^(R) will come to us from heaven
⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,^(S)
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”^(T)