Isaiah 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen1 me.2

He has commissioned3 me to encourage4 the poor,

to help5 the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

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1	tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.
2	sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1–4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).
3	tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”
4	tn Or “proclaim good news to.”
5	tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”