The Good News of Deliverance
61 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 oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,(A)
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,(B)
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.(C)
4 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.(D)
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks;
foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines,(E)
6 but you shall be called priests of the Lord;
you shall be named ministers of our God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,
and in their riches you shall glory.(F)
7 Because their[a] shame was double
and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
everlasting joy shall be theirs.(G)
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;[b]
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.(H)
9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.(I)
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my whole being shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(J)
11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.(K)
Footnotes
Cross references
- 61.1 : Ps 45.7; Isa 11.2; 42.7; 57.15; Lk 4.18
- 61.2 : Isa 34.8; 49.8; 57.18; Mt 5.4
- 61.3 : Ps 45.7; Isa 60.20, 21
- 61.4 : Isa 49.8; Ezek 36.33
- 61.5 : Isa 60.10
- 61.6 : Isa 60.5, 11; 66.21
- 61.7 : Ps 16.11; Isa 40.2; 54.4; 60.15; Zech 9.12
- 61.8 : Isa 30.18; 55.3
- 61.9 : Isa 44.3; 54.3
- 61.10 : Isa 12.1, 2; 49.4, 18; Rev 21.2
- 61.11 : Ps 72.3; 85.11; Isa 45.23, 24; 55.10; 60.18