Isaiah 61-62

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

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;
²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³to 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.
⁴They shall build up the ancient ruins,
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

⁵Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
    foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;
⁶but 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.
⁷Because their^[a] shame was double,
    and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore they shall possess a double portion;
    everlasting joy shall be theirs.

⁸For 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.
⁹Their 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.
¹⁰I 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.
¹¹For 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.

The Vindication and Salvation of Zion

62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
    and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
    and her salvation like a burning torch.
²The nations shall see your vindication,
    and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
    that the mouth of the Lord will give.
³You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
    and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴You shall no more be termed Forsaken,^[c]
    and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;^[d]
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,^[e]
    and your land Married;^[f]
for the Lord delights in you,
    and your land shall be married.
⁵For as a young man marries a young woman,
    so shall your builder^[g] marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
    so shall your God rejoice over you.
⁶Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
    I have posted sentinels;
all day and all night
    they shall never be silent.
You who remind the Lord,
    take no rest,
⁷and give him no rest
    until he establishes Jerusalem
    and makes it renowned throughout the earth.
⁸The Lord has sworn by his right hand
    and by his mighty arm:
I will not again give your grain
    to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink the wine
    for which you have labored;
⁹but those who garner it shall eat it
    and praise the Lord,
and those who gather it shall drink it
    in my holy courts.

¹⁰Go through, go through the gates,
    prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway,
    clear it of stones,
    lift up an ensign over the peoples.
¹¹The Lord has proclaimed
    to the end of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
    “See, your salvation comes;
his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.”
¹²They shall be called, “The Holy People,
    The Redeemed of the Lord”;
and you shall be called, “Sought Out,
    A City Not Forsaken.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 61:7 Heb your
Isaiah 61:8 Or robbery with a burnt offering
Isaiah 62:4 Heb Azubah
Isaiah 62:4 Heb Shemamah
Isaiah 62:4 Heb Hephzibah
Isaiah 62:4 Heb Beulah
Isaiah 62:5 Cn: Heb your sons

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.