Isaiah 14:32

14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? ¹ 

Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;

the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

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

because the Lord has chosen ²  me. ³ 

He has commissioned ⁴  me to encourage ⁵  the poor,

to help ⁶  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ⁷ 

to console all who mourn,

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ⁸  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ⁹  instead of discouragement. ¹⁰ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ¹¹ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ¹² 

Zechariah 11:11

11:11 So it was annulled that very day, and then the most afflicted of the flock who kept faith with me knew that that was the word of the Lord.

Zechariah 13:8-9

13:8 It will happen in all the land, says the Lord,

that two-thirds of the people ¹³  in it will be cut off and die,

but one-third will be left in it. ¹⁴ 

13:9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire;

I will refine them like silver is refined

and will test them like gold is tested.

They will call on my name and I will answer;

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” ¹⁵ 

Matthew 5:3

5:3 “Blessed ¹⁶  are the poor in spirit, ¹⁷  for the kingdom of heaven belongs ¹⁸  to them.

Matthew 11:5

11:5 The blind see, the ¹⁹  lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

Matthew 11:1

11:1 When ²⁰  Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their towns.

Colossians 1:27-28

1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious ²¹  riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ²²  and teaching ²³  all people ²⁴  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ²⁵  in Christ.

James 2:5

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ²⁶  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

[14:32]  ¹ sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.

[61:1]  ² tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ³ 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).

[61:1]  ⁴ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ⁵ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[61:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

[61:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ¹¹ 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.”

[61:3]  ¹² tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[13:8]  ¹³ tn The words “of the people” are supplied in the translation for clarity (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).

[13:8]  ¹⁴ sn The fractions mentioned here call to mind the affliction of God’s people described by Ezekiel, though Ezekiel referred to his own times whereas Zechariah is looking forward to a future eschatological age. Ezekiel spoke of cutting his hair at God’s command (Ezek 5:1-4) and then of burning a third of it, striking a third with a sword, and scattering the rest. From this last third a few hairs would survive to become the nucleus of a new Israel. It is this “third” Zechariah speaks of (v. 9), the remnant who will be purified and reclaimed as God’s covenant people.

[13:9]  ¹⁵ sn The expression I will say ‘It is my people,’ and they will say ‘the Lord is my God’ is reminiscent of the restoration of Israel predicted by Hosea, who said that those who had been rejected as God’s people would be reclaimed and once more become his sons and daughters (Hos 2:23).

[5:3]  ¹⁶ sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.

[5:3]  ¹⁷ sn The poor in spirit is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.

[5:3]  ¹⁸ sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized.

[11:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. Two other conjunctions are omitted in this series.

[11:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And it happened when.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:27]  ²¹ tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (ths doxhs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”

[1:28]  ²² tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.

[1:28]  ²³ tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).

[1:28]  ²⁴ tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[1:28]  ²⁵ tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.

[2:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.