Messiah’s Jubilee

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is on me,(A)
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.(B)
He has sent me to heal[a] the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners;(C)
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,(D)
and the day of our God’s vengeance;(E)
to comfort(F) all who mourn,
to provide for those who mourn in Zion;
to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
festive oil instead of mourning,(G)
and splendid clothes instead of despair.[b]
And they will be called righteous trees,
planted by the Lord
to glorify him.(H)
They will rebuild the ancient ruins;(I)
they will restore the former devastations;
they will renew the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.(J)

But you will be called the Lord’s priests;(K)
they will speak of you as ministers of our God;
you will eat the wealth of the nations,
and you will boast in their riches.
In place of your shame, you will have a double portion;(L)
in place of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share.
So they will possess double in their land,(M)
and eternal joy will be theirs.

For I the Lord love justice;(N)
I hate robbery and injustice;[c]
I will faithfully reward my people
and make a permanent covenant(O) with them.
Their descendants will be known among the nations,
and their posterity among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.

10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord,
I exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation
and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness,(P)
as a groom wears a turban
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(Q)
11 For as the earth produces its growth,
and as a garden enables what is sown to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.(R)

Footnotes

  1. 61:1 Lit bind up
  2. 61:3 Lit a dim spirit
  3. 61:8 Some Hb mss, DSS, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg; other Hb mss read robbery with a burnt offering

Good News of Deliverance

61 “The Spirit of the Lord[a] is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed
    and[b] to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives,
    and release from darkness[c] for the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
    the[d] day of vengeance of our God;
        to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who grieve in Zion—
    to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    a mantle of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

“Then people will call them[e] “Oaks of Righteousness”,
    “The Planting of the Lord”,
        in order to display his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
    they will restore the places long devastated;
they will build again the ruined cities,
    they will build again[f] the places devastated for many generations.
Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
    and foreigners will work your land
        and dress your vines.
But as for you, you will be called priests of the Lord,
    and[g] you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of the nations,
    and you will boast about their riches.
Instead of your shame you will receive double,
    and instead of disgrace people will shout with joy over your[h] inheritance;
therefore you[i] will inherit a double portion in their land;
    everlasting joy will be yours.”[j]

“For I, the Lord, love justice,
    and[k] I hate robbery and iniquity;
I will faithfully present your reward[l]
    and make an everlasting covenant with you.[m]
Your[n] offspring will be known among the nations,
    and your[o] descendants among the people.[p]
All who see them will acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.”

Rejoicing in God’s Deliverance

10 “I will heartily rejoice in the Lord,
    my soul will delight in my God;
for he has wrapped me in garments of salvation;
    he has arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
just like a bridegroom,
    like a priest[q] with a garland,
        and like a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For just as the soil brings forth its shoots,
    and as a garden makes what is sown within it spring up,
so the Lord God[r] will make righteousness and praise
    spring up before all the nations for Zion’s sake.”[s]

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 61:1 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab LXX; 4QIsam MT read the Lord God
  2. Isaiah 61:1 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lacks and
  3. Isaiah 61:1 Or prison; or and opening of the eyes
  4. Isaiah 61:2 So 1QIsaa LXXms; 4QIsab MT LXX read and the
  5. Isaiah 61:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read they will be called
  6. Isaiah 61:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lacks again
  7. Isaiah 61:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lacks and
  8. Isaiah 61:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads their
  9. Isaiah 61:7 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX reads they
  10. Isaiah 61:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads theirs; LXX reads over their head
  11. Isaiah 61:8 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks and
  12. Isaiah 61:8 So 1QIsaa; MT LX read present their reward
  13. Isaiah 61:8 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read with them
  14. Isaiah 61:9 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read Their
  15. Isaiah 61:9 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read their
  16. Isaiah 61:9 Lit. peoples
  17. Isaiah 61:10 So 1QIsaa; MT reads bridegroom decks himself like a priest; LXX reads bridegroom decks me
  18. Isaiah 61:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads the Lord God; LXX reads the Lord
  19. Isaiah 61:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack for Zion’s sake