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

Exaltation of the Afflicted

61 The (A)Spirit of the Lord [a]God is upon me,
Because the Lord anointed me
To (B)bring good news to the (C)humble;
He has sent me to (D)bind up the brokenhearted,
To (E)proclaim [b]release to captives
And [c]freedom to prisoners;
To (F)proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the (G)day of vengeance of our God;
To (H)comfort all who mourn,
To (I)grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The (J)oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called [d](K)oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Then they will (L)rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
(M)Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And [e]foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
But you will be called the (N)priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as (O)ministers of our God.
You will eat the (P)wealth of nations,
And you will boast in their [f]riches.
Instead of your (Q)shame you will have a (R)double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
(S)Everlasting joy will be theirs.
For I, the Lord, (T)love justice,
I hate robbery [g]in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their reward,
And make an (U)everlasting covenant with them.
Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the (V)offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

10 I will (W)rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will be joyful in (X)my God;
For He has (Y)clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a groom puts on a turban,
And (Z)as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the (AA)earth produces its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord [h]God will (AB)cause (AC)righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 61:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Isaiah 61:1 Or liberty
  3. Isaiah 61:1 Lit opening to those who are bound
  4. Isaiah 61:3 Or terebinths
  5. Isaiah 61:5 Lit sons of the foreigner
  6. Isaiah 61:6 Or glory
  7. Isaiah 61:8 Or with malice
  8. Isaiah 61:11 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord