Text -- Isaiah 61:3-11 (NET)

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion, by giving them a turban, instead of ashes, oil symbolizing joy, instead of mourning, a garment symbolizing praise, instead of discouragement. They will be called oaks of righteousness, trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 61:4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins and restore the places that were desolate; they will reestablish the ruined cities, the places that have been desolate since ancient times. 61:5 “Foreigners will take care of your sheep; foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards. 61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests, servants of our God.’ You will enjoy the wealth of nations and boast about the riches you receive from them. 61:7 Instead of shame, you will get a double portion; instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive. Yes, they will possess a double portion in their land and experience lasting joy. 61:8 For I, the Lord, love justice and hate robbery and sin. I will repay them because of my faithfulness; I will make a permanent covenant with them. 61:9 Their descendants will be known among the nations, their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will recognize that the Lord has blessed them.” 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; I will be overjoyed because of my God. For he clothes me in garments of deliverance; he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would; I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry. 61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops and a garden yields its produce, so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance to grow, and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 61:3

¹ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

² tn Heb “garment of praise.”

³ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

⁴ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

⁵ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

NET Notes: Isa 61:4

¹ tn Heb “and the formerly desolate places they will raise up.”

NET Notes: Isa 61:5

¹ sn The Lord speaks in vv. 7-8 (and possibly v. 9). It is not clear where the servant’s speech (see vv. 1-3a) ends and the Lord’s begins. Perhaps the direct address to the people signals the beginning of the Lord’s speech.

² tn Heb “will stand [in position] and shepherd.”

NET Notes: Isa 61:6

¹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”

² tn Heb “eat” (KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “feed on”; NLT “be fed with.”

³ tc The form in the Hebrew text is probably a corruption of יִתְאַמְּרוּ (yit’ammÿru), a Hitpael from אָמַר (’amar), meaning “boast about” (see HALOT 67 s.v. II אמר, HALOT 416 s.v. ימר, and BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר).

⁴ tn Heb “their glory” (i.e., riches).

NET Notes: Isa 61:7

¹ tn Heb “instead of your shame, a double portion.”

² tn Heb “and [instead of] humiliation they will rejoice [over] their portion.” The term תָחָת (takhat, “instead of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

³ tn Heb “therefore” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “and so.”

NET Notes: Isa 61:8

¹ tn Heb “in faithfulness”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “faithfully.”

NET Notes: Isa 61:9

¹ tn Heb “all who see them will recognize them, that they [are] descendants [whom] the Lord has blessed.”

NET Notes: Isa 61:10

¹ sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.

² tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

³ tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”

⁴ tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”

⁵ tn Heb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.

NET Notes: Isa 61:11

¹ tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).

² tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”