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Chapter 61

The Anointed Bearer of Glad Tidings

[a]The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
    release to the prisoners,(A)
To announce a year of favor from the Lord
    and a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn;(B)
    to place on those who mourn in Zion
    a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.

Restoration and Blessing

They will be called oaks of justice,
    the planting of the Lord to show his glory.

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Footnotes

  1. 61:1–2 The prophet proclaims that he has been anointed by the Lord to bring good news (cf. 40:9) to the afflicted and to comfort Zion. The background to the “year of favor” is the jubilee year of release from debts (Lv 25:10–11; Is 49:8).

[a]You yourselves shall be called “Priests of the Lord,”
    “Ministers of our God” you shall be called.
You shall eat the wealth of the nations
    and in their riches you will boast.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 61:6 The bestowal of a new name suggests a new identity and mission. The whole people will be priests (cf. Ex 19:6), even ministering to nations who will serve God’s people.

God’s Word of Promise

For I, the Lord, love justice,
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    an everlasting covenant I will make with them.(A)
Their offspring shall be renowned among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them:
    “They are offspring the Lord has blessed.”

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