Isaiah 61

The Good News of Deliverance

⁶¹The 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,^*

²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,^*

³to 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.^*

⁴They shall build up the ancient ruins;

they shall raise up the former devastations;

they shall repair the ruined cities,

the devastations of many generations.^*

⁵Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks;

foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines,^*

⁶but 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.^*

⁷Because their^g 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.^*

⁸For I, the Lord, love justice,

I hate robbery and wrongdoing;^h

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.^*

⁹Their 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.^*

¹⁰I 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.^*

¹¹For 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.^*