Isaiah 61:8-11

61:8 For I, the Lord, love justice

and hate robbery and sin.

I will repay them because of my faithfulness; ¹ 

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.” ² 

61:10 I ³  will greatly rejoice ⁴  in the Lord;

I will be overjoyed because of my God. ⁵ 

For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;

he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. ⁶ 

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. ⁷ 

61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops

and a garden yields its produce,

so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance ⁸  to grow,

and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. ⁹ 

[61:8]  ¹ tn Heb “in faithfulness”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “faithfully.”

[61:9]  ² tn Heb “all who see them will recognize them, that they [are] descendants [whom] the Lord has blessed.”

[61:10]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[61:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”

[61:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”

[61:10]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).

[61:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”