Isaiah 61:1-4

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.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 61:1 Hebrew; Septuagint the blind

Isaiah 61:8-11

New International Version

⁸“For I, the Lord, love justice;^(A)
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
    and make an everlasting covenant^(B) with them.
⁹Their descendants^(C) 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.”^(D)

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

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John 1:6-8

New International Version

⁶There was a man sent from God whose name was John.^(A) ⁷He came as a witness to testify^(B) concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.^(C) ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

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John 1:19-28

New International Version

John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

¹⁹Now this was John’s^(A) testimony when the Jewish leaders^[a]^(B) in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”^(C)

²¹They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”^(D)

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”^(E)

He answered, “No.”

²²Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness,^(F) ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”^[b]^(G)

²⁴Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶“I baptize with^[c] water,”^(H) John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷He is the one who comes after me,^(I) the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”^(J)

²⁸This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,^(K) where John was baptizing.

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Footnotes

John 1:19 The Greek term traditionally translated the Jews (hoi Ioudaioi) refers here and elsewhere in John’s Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus; also in 5:10, 15, 16; 7:1, 11, 13; 9:22; 18:14, 28, 36; 19:7, 12, 31, 38; 20:19.
John 1:23 Isaiah 40:3
John 1:26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice)