Isaiah 61
1 “[The] Spirit of Lord YHWH [is] on Me, Because YHWH anointed Me To proclaim tidings to the humble, He sent Me to bind the broken of heart, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And an opening of bands to [those] bound.
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;
2 To proclaim the year of the favor of YHWH, And the day of vengeance of our God, To comfort all mourners.
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;
3 To appoint to mourners in Zion, To give to them beauty instead of ashes, The oil of joy instead of mourning, A covering of praise for a faded spirit, And He is calling to them, Trees of righteousness, The planting of YHWH—to be beautified.”
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.
4 And they have built the ancient ruins, They raise up the desolations of the ancients, And they have renewed ruined cities, The desolations of generation and generation.
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.
5 And strangers have stood and fed your flock, And the sons of a foreigner [Are] your farmers and your vinedressers.
And men from strange countries will be your herdsmen, and those who are not Israelites will be your ploughmen and vine-keepers.
6 And you are called priests of YHWH, It is said of you [that you are] ministers of our God, You consume the strength of nations, And you boast yourselves in their glory.
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.
7 Instead of your shame—double [honor], And [instead of] confusion, They rejoice in their portion, Therefore they take possession in their land a second time, Continuous joy [is] for them.
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.
8 “For I [am] YHWH, loving judgment, Hating plunder for a burnt-offering, And I have given their wage in truth, And I make a perpetual covenant for them.
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.
9 And their seed has been known among the nations, And their offspring in the midst of the peoples, All their beholders acknowledge them, For they [are] a seed YHWH has blessed.”
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.
10 I greatly rejoice in YHWH, My soul rejoices in my God, For He clothed me with garments of salvation, [And] covered me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom prepares ornaments, And as a bride puts on her jewels.
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.
11 For as the earth brings forth her shoots, And as a garden causes its sown things to shoot up, So Lord YHWH causes righteousness and praise To shoot up before all the nations!
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.
