Isaiah 61:10

61:10 I ¹  will greatly rejoice ²  in the Lord;

I will be overjoyed because of my God. ³ 

For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;

he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. ⁴ 

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. ⁵ 

Matthew 22:11-12

22:11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 22:12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. ⁶ 

Luke 15:22

15:22 But the father said to his slaves, ⁷  ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, ⁸  and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger ⁹  and sandals ¹⁰  on his feet!

Galatians 3:7-9

3:7 so then, understand ¹¹  that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. ¹²  3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, ¹³  saying, “All the nations ¹⁴  will be blessed in you.” ¹⁵  3:9 So then those who believe ¹⁶  are blessed along with Abraham the believer.

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.

⁶ tn Grk “he was silent.”

⁷ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

⁸ sn With the instructions Hurry! Bring the best robe, there is a total acceptance of the younger son back into the home.

⁹ tn Grk “hand”; but χείρ (ceir) can refer to either the whole hand or any relevant part of it (L&N 8.30).

¹⁰ sn The need for sandals underlines the younger son’s previous destitution, because he was barefoot.

¹¹ tn Grk “know.”

¹² tn The phrase “sons of Abraham” is used here in a figurative sense to describe people who are connected to a personality, Abraham, by close nonmaterial ties. It is this personality that has defined the relationship and its characteristics (BDAG 1024-25 s.v. υἱός 2.c.α).

¹³ tn For the Greek verb προευαγγελίζομαι (proeuangelizomai) translated as “proclaim the gospel ahead of time,” compare L&N 33.216.

¹⁴ tn The same plural Greek word, τὰ ἔθνη (ta eqnh), can be translated as “nations” or “Gentiles.”

¹⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 12:3; 18:18.

¹⁶ tn Grk “those who are by faith,” with the Greek expression “by faith” (ἐκ πίστεως, ek pistew") the same as the expression in v. 8.