Isaiah 61:1

Context

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

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

because the Lord has chosen¹ me.²

He has commissioned³ me to encourage⁴ the poor,

to help⁵ the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

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

[61:1] ²sn 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] ³tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1] ⁴tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1] ⁵tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”