Isaiah 61:5-11

61:5 ¹ “Foreigners will take care of ²  your sheep;

foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards.

61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,

servants of our God.’ ³ 

You will enjoy ⁴  the wealth of nations

and boast about ⁵  the riches you receive from them. ⁶ 

61:7 Instead of shame, you will get a double portion; ⁷ 

instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive. ⁸ 

Yes, ⁹  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; ¹⁰ 

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.” ¹¹ 

61:10 I ¹²  will greatly rejoice ¹³  in the Lord;

I will be overjoyed because of my God. ¹⁴ 

For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;

he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. ¹⁵ 

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. ¹⁶ 

61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops

and a garden yields its produce,

so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance ¹⁷  to grow,

and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. ¹⁸ 

[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.

[61:5]  ² tn Heb “will stand [in position] and shepherd.”

[61:6]  ³ tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”

[61:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “eat” (KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “feed on”; NLT “be fed with.”

[61:6]  ⁵ 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).

[61:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “their glory” (i.e., riches).

[61:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “instead of your shame, a double portion.”

[61:7]  ⁸ 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).

[61:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “therefore” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “and so.”

[61:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in faithfulness”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “faithfully.”

[61:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all who see them will recognize them, that they [are] descendants [whom] the Lord has blessed.”

[61:10]  ¹² 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.

[61:10]  ¹³ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[61:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”

[61:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”

[61:10]  ¹⁶ 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.

[61:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).

[61:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”