^4:16Now⁵³ Jesus⁵⁴ came to Nazareth,⁵⁵ where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue⁵⁶ on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.⁵⁷ He⁵⁸ stood up to read,⁵⁹^4:17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He⁶⁰ unrolled⁶¹ the scroll and found the place where it was written,

^4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed⁶² me to proclaim good news⁶³ to the poor.⁶⁴

He has sent me⁶⁵ to proclaim release⁶⁶ to the captives

and the regaining of sight⁶⁷ to the blind,

to set free⁶⁸ those who are oppressed,⁶⁹

^4:19to proclaim the year⁷⁰ of the Lord’s favor.”⁷¹

^4:20Then⁷² he rolled up⁷³ the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on⁷⁴ him. ^4:21Then⁷⁵ he began to tell them, “Today⁷⁶ this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”⁷⁷

Read in Logos

Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed… ”

Footnotes

53 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
54 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
55 Nazareth was Jesus’ hometown (which is why he is known as Jesus of Nazareth) about 20 miles (30 km) southwest from Capernaum. For location see ; ; ; ; .
56 See the note on synagogues in .
57 Grk “according to his custom.”
58 Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
59 In normative Judaism of the period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. See the , Megillah 3–4; Berakhot 2. First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Normally one stood up to read out of respect for the scriptures, and then sat down (v. 20) to expound them.
60 Grk “And unrolling the scroll he found.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead a new sentence has been started in the translation.
61 Grk “opening,” but a scroll of this period would have to be unrolled. The participle ἀναπτύξας (anaptuxas) has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
62 The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21–22.
63 Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”
64 The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11–25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.
65 The majority of , especially the later Byzantines, include the phrase “to heal the brokenhearted” at this point (A Θ Ψ 0102 f1 𝔐). The phrase is lacking in several weighty (א B D L W Ξ f13 33 579 700 892* lat sys co), including representatives from both the Alexandrian and Western texttypes. From the standpoint of external evidence, the omission of the phrase is more likely original. When internal evidence is considered, the shorter reading becomes almost certain. Scribes would be much more prone to add the phrase here to align the text with Isa 61:1, the source of the quotation, than to remove it from the original.
66 The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77–79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).
67 Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77–79; 18:35–43).
68 The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message—he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, aphesis) translated release earlier in the verse.
69 Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77–79; 18:35–43).
70 The year of the Lord’s favor (Grk “the acceptable year of the Lord”) is a description of the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:10). The year of the total forgiveness of debt is now turned into a metaphor for salvation. Jesus had come to proclaim that God was ready to forgive sin totally.
71 A quotation from Isa 61:1–2a. Within the citation is a line from Isa 58:6, with its reference to setting the oppressed free.
72 Grk “And closing.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
73 Grk “closing,” but a scroll of this period would have to be rolled up. The participle πτύξας (ptuxas) has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
74 Or “gazing at,” “staring at.”
75 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
76 See the note on today in .
77 Grk “in your hearing.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

NLTNew Living Translation

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the oppressed will be set free,

and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and according to his custom he entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll he found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because of which he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim release to the captives,

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to send out in freedom those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were looking intently at him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Public Domain