Isaiah 61
The Voice
61 The Spirit of the Lord, the Eternal, is on me.
The Lord has appointed me for a special purpose.
He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to repair broken hearts,
And to declare to those who are held captive and bound in prison,
“Be free from your imprisonment!”
2 He has sent me to announce the year of jubilee, the season of the Eternal’s favor:
for our enemies it will be a day of God’s wrath;
For those who mourn it will be a time of comfort.[a]
3 As for those who grieve over Zion,
God has sent me to give them a beautiful crown in exchange for ashes,
To anoint them with gladness instead of sorrow,
to wrap them in victory, joy, and praise instead of depression and sadness.
People will call them magnificent, like great towering trees
standing for what is right.
They stand to the glory of the Eternal
who planted them.
4 And they will rebuild this place from its ancient ruins;
they will restore the ages-old, once-splendid structures;
They will renew Israel’s ruined cities
from the ashes and debris that laid untouched for many generations.
5 And people will come from all over to serve you:
Outsiders will tend your flocks, plough your fields, and prune your vines.
6 You will be known as the ones specially chosen by the Eternal as priests;
people will speak of you as ministers of our God.
And the wealth of nations will come to you for your delight and enrichment.
7 Many called you disgraced and defiled and said that shame should be your share of things.
Yet you suffered doubly and lived in disgrace;
So double will be your share, and with joy everlasting.
8 Eternal One: For I, the Eternal, love justice.
I hate stealing and all manner of wrongdoing.
In faithfulness to those who do justice, I promise they will be rewarded for their work;
and I will establish an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Furthermore, I will promise them My support for their children,
so that all nations and everyone around
Will see that they are the children blessed by the Eternal God.
10 I am filled with joy and my soul vibrates with exuberant hope,
because of the Eternal my God;
For He has dressed me with the garment of salvation,
wrapped me with the robe of righteousness.
It’s as though I’m dressed for my wedding day,[b]
in the very best: a bridegroom’s garland and a bride’s jewels.
11 The whole earth sprouts newness and life in the springtime,
and green shoots break through the well-seeded garden soil.
That’s what it is like with the Eternal’s victory—
the Lord will cause justice and praise to sprout up before all the nations, for all peoples to see.
Footnotes
- 61:1–2 Luke 4:18–19
- 61:10 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Isaiah 61
New Revised Standard Version Updated 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,(A)
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,(B)
3 to 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.(C)
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.(D)
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks;
foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines,(E)
6 but 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.(F)
7 Because their[a] shame was double
and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
everlasting joy shall be theirs.(G)
8 For 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.(H)
9 Their 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.(I)
10 I 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.(J)
11 For 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.(K)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.