Psalms 79:11

79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! ¹ 

Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! ² 

Psalms 102:20

102:20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,

and to set free those condemned to die, ³ 

Psalms 146:7

146:7 vindicates the oppressed, ⁴ 

and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord releases the imprisoned.

Isaiah 42:7

42:7 to open blind eyes, ⁵ 

to release prisoners ⁶  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

Isaiah 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

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

because the Lord has chosen ⁷  me. ⁸ 

He has commissioned ⁹  me to encourage ¹⁰  the poor,

to help ¹¹  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

Zechariah 9:11-12

9:11 Moreover, as for you, because of our covenant relationship secured with blood, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit. 9:12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners, with hope; today I declare that I will return double what was taken from you.

[79:11]  ¹ tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”

[79:11]  ² tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[102:20]  ³ tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[146:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “executes justice for the oppressed.”

[42:7]  ⁵ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ⁶ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[61:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”