Chapter 61
The Anointed Bearer of Glad Tidings
1 [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)
2 To announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn;(B)
3 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.
4 They shall rebuild the ancient ruins,
the former wastes they shall raise up
And restore the desolate cities,
devastations of generation upon generation.(C)
5 Strangers shall stand ready to pasture your flocks,
foreigners shall be your farmers and vinedressers.
6 [b]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.(D)
7 Because their shame was twofold[c]
and disgrace was proclaimed their portion,
They will possess twofold in their own land;
everlasting joy shall be theirs.(E)
God’s Word of Promise
8 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.(F)
9 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.”
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
10 [d]I will rejoice heartily in the Lord,
my being exults in my God;
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation,
and wrapped me in a robe of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(G)
11 As the earth brings forth its shoots,
and a garden makes its seeds spring up,
So will the Lord God make justice spring up,
and praise before all the nations.
Footnotes
- 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).
- 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.
- 61:7 Twofold: Israel was punished double for infidelity (40:2); the blessings of its restoration will also be double.
- 61:10–11 The new life of the restored Zion is expressed in nuptial (cf. also 62:5) and agricultural (cf. v. 3; 60:21) imagery.