The Year of the Lord's Favor

61 (A)The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has (B)anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;[a]
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and (C)the opening of the prison to those who are bound;[b]
(D)to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    (E)and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    (F)to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
(G)the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
(H)that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, (I)that he may be glorified.[c]
(J)They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

(K)Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
(L)but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
(M)you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
    and in their glory you shall boast.
(N)Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
    they shall have everlasting joy.

(O)For I the Lord love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;[d]
(P)I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    (Q)and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

10 (R)I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
(S)for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself (T)like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    (U)and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause (V)righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 61:1 Or afflicted
  2. Isaiah 61:1 Or the opening [of the eyes] to those who are blind; Septuagint and recovery of sight to the blind
  3. Isaiah 61:3 Or that he may display his beauty
  4. Isaiah 61:8 Or robbery with a burnt offering

Joyful proclamations

61 The Lord God’s spirit is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me
    to bring good news to the poor,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim release for captives,
        and liberation for prisoners,
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
        and a day of vindication for our God,
    to comfort all who mourn,
    to provide for Zion’s mourners,
    to give them a crown in place of ashes,
    oil of joy in place of mourning,
    a mantle of praise in place of discouragement.
They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
    planted by the Lord to glorify himself.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
    they will restore formerly deserted places;
    they will renew ruined cities,
    places deserted in generations past.

Foreigners will stay and shepherd your sheep,
    and strangers will be your farmers and vinedressers.
You will be called The Priests of the Lord;
    Ministers of Our God, they will say about you.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
    and fatten[a] yourself on their riches.
Instead of shame, their[b] portion will be double;
    instead of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share.
They will possess a double portion in their land;
    everlasting joy will be theirs.
I, the Lord, love justice;
    I hate robbery and dishonesty.[c]
I will faithfully give them their wage,
    and make with them an enduring covenant.
Their offspring will be known among the nations,
    and their descendants among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
    that they are a people blessed by the Lord.

10 I surely rejoice in the Lord;
    my heart is joyful because of my God,
    because he has clothed me with clothes of victory,
    wrapped me in a robe of righteousness
    like a bridegroom in a priestly crown,
    and like a bride adorned in jewelry.
11 As the earth puts out its growth,
    and as a garden grows its seeds,
    so the Lord God will grow righteousness and praise before all the nations.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 61:6 Heb uncertain
  2. Isaiah 61:7 Or your
  3. Isaiah 61:8 Heb manuscripts, LXX, Syr, Tg; MT robbery with an entirely burned offering