Isaiah 61

1 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;

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the meek, so as to heal the contrite of heart, to preach leniency to captives and release to the confined,

2 To proclaim the year of mercy from Jehovah, And the day of vengeance from our God; To comfort all that mourn;

and so to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vindication of our God: to console all who are mourning,

3 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.

to take up the mourners of Zion and to give them a crown in place of ashes, an oil of joy in place of mourning, a cloak of praise in place of a spirit of grief. And there, they shall be called the strong ones of justice, the planting of the Lord, unto glorification.

4 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.

And they will rebuild the deserted places of past ages, and they will raise up the ruins of antiquity, and they will repair the desolate cities, which had been dissipated for generation after generation.

5 Strangers shall stand up and feed your flocks, And the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and vine-dressers;

And foreigners will stand up and will pasture your flocks. And the sons of sojourners will be your farmers and the workers of your vineyards.

6 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.

But you yourselves will be called the priests of the Lord. It will be said to you, “You are the ministers of our God.” You will eat from the strength of the Gentiles, and you will pride yourself on their glory.

7 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.

Instead of your double confusion and shame, they will praise their portion. Because of this, they will possess double in their land. Everlasting joy will be for them.

8 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.

For I am the Lord, who loves judgment and who holds hatred for robbery within a burnt offering. And I will turn their work into truth, and I will forge a perpetual covenant with them.

9 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.

And they will know their offspring among the nations, and their progeny in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them: that these are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

10 “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.”

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, and my soul will exult in my God. For he has clothed me with the vestments of salvation, and he has wrapped me in the clothing of justice, like a groom arrayed with a crown, and like a bride adorned with her jewels.

11 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.

For as the earth brings forth its seedlings and the garden produces its seeds, so will the Lord God bring forth justice and praise in the sight of all the nations.