Isaiah 61
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
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.
Isaiah 61
Legacy Standard Bible
Exaltation of the Afflicted
61 The (A)Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me
Because Yahweh has anointed me
To (B)bring good news to the [a](C)afflicted;
He has sent me to (D)bind up the brokenhearted,
To (E)proclaim release to captives
And [b]freedom to prisoners,
2 To (F)proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh
And the (G)day of vengeance of our God,
To (H)comfort all who mourn,
3 To (I)grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a headdress instead of ashes,
The (J)oil of rejoicing instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called [c](K)oaks of righteousness,
The planting of Yahweh, that He may show forth His beautiful glory.
4 Then they will (L)rebuild the ancient waste places;
They will raise up the former desolations;
And they will make new the ruined cities,
The desolations from generation to generation.
5 (M)Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And [d]foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the (N)priests of Yahweh;
You will be spoken of as (O)ministers of our God.
You will eat the (P)wealth of nations,
And in their glories you will boast.
7 Instead of your (Q)shame you will have a (R)double portion,
And instead of dishonor they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land;
(S)Everlasting gladness will be theirs.
8 For I, Yahweh, (T)love justice,
I hate robbery [e]in the burnt offering;
And in truth I will give them their recompense
And cut an (U)everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their seed will be known among the nations,
And their offspring in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the (V)seed whom Yahweh has blessed.
10 I will (W)rejoice greatly in Yahweh;
My soul will rejoice in (X)my God,
For He has (Y)clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress,
And (Z)as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the (AA)earth brings forth its branches,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to branch out,
So Lord Yahweh will (AB)cause (AC)righteousness and praise
To branch out before all the nations.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 61:1 Or humble
- Isaiah 61:1 Lit opening to those who are bound
- Isaiah 61:3 Or terebinths
- Isaiah 61:5 Lit sons of the foreigner
- Isaiah 61:8 Or with iniquity
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