Isaiah 61
1 The spirit of the Lord is on me, because I am marked out by him to give good news to the poor; he has sent me to make the broken-hearted well, to say that the prisoners will be made free, and that those in chains will see the light again;
The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, For Jehovah hath anointed me; He hath sent me to publish good tidings to the distressed, To bind up the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To give knowledge that the year of the Lord's good pleasure has come, and the day of punishment from our God; to give comfort to all who are sad;
To proclaim the year of mercy from Jehovah, And the day of vengeance from our God; To comfort all that mourn;
3 To give them a fair head-dress in place of dust, the oil of joy in place of the clothing of grief, praise in place of sorrow; so that they may be named trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, and so that he may have glory.
To give gladness to the mourners in Zion; To give them a beautiful crown instead of ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, So that they shall be called blessed terebinth-trees, The plantation of Jehovah for his glory.
4 And they will be building again the old broken walls, and will make new the old waste places, and will put up again the towns which have been waste for long generations.
They shall build up the old ruins; They shall raise up the ancient desolations; They shall repair the cities laid waste, The desolations of many generations.
5 And men from strange countries will be your herdsmen, and those who are not Israelites will be your ploughmen and vine-keepers.
Strangers shall stand up and feed your flocks, And the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and vine-dressers;
6 But you will be named the priests of the Lord, the servants of our God: you will have the wealth of the nations for your food, and you will be clothed with their glory.
But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah, Men shall call you the ministers of our God. Ye shall eat the riches of the nations, And in their glory shall ye make your boast.
7 As they had twice as much grief, and marks of shame were their heritage, so in their land they will be rewarded twice over, and will have eternal joy.
For your shame shall ye have a double reward; And for ignominy ye shall rejoice in your portion; Therefore in your land ye shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be your portion.
8 For I, the Lord, take pleasure in upright judging; I will not put up with the violent taking away of right; and I will certainly give them their reward, and I will make an eternal agreement with them.
For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate rapine and iniquity, I will give them their reward with faithfulness, And an everlasting covenant will I make with them.
9 And their seed will be noted among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples: it will be clear to all who see them that they are the seed to which the Lord has given his blessing.
Their race shall be illustrious among the nations, And their offspring among the people; All that see them shall acknowledge That they are a race which Jehovah hath blessed.
10 I will be full of joy in the Lord, my soul will be glad in my God; for he has put on me the clothing of salvation, covering me with the robe of righteousness, as the husband puts on a fair head-dress, and the bride makes herself beautiful with jewels.
“I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah; My soul shall exult in my God; For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation; He hath covered me with the mantle of deliverance. As the bridegroom decketh himself with his turban, And as the bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
11 For as the earth puts out buds, and as the garden gives growth to the seeds which are planted in it, so the Lord will make righteousness and praise to be flowering before all the nations.
For as the earth putteth forth her shoots, And as a garden causeth its plants to spring forth, So shall the Lord Jehovah cause salvation to spring forth; And praise before all the nations.
