Isaiah 61

Isaiah 61, verse 1. ¹“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because of which He anointed Me. He sent Me to proclaim good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; Isaiah 61, verse 2. ²to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, the day of recompense, and to comfort all who mourn; Isaiah 61, verse 3. ³to give those who mourn in Zion glory instead of ashes, the oil of gladness to those who mourn; the garment of glory instead of a spirit of indifference. They shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory. Isaiah 61, verse 4. ⁴They shall build the ancient deserts, raise up those formerly abandoned, and renew the desert cities that laid waste for generations. Isaiah 61, verse 5. ⁵Foreigners shall come and shepherd your sheep, and aliens shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; Isaiah 61, verse 6. ⁶but you shall be called priests of the Lord and the ministers of God. You shall eat the strength of nations and be admired because of their wealth. Isaiah 61, verse 7. ⁷So they shall inherit the land a second time, and eternal gladness shall be upon their head. Isaiah 61, verse 8. ⁸For I am the Lord, who loves righteousness and hates robberies of wrongdoing. I will give their labor to the righteous and will make with them an everlasting covenant. Isaiah 61, verse 9. ⁹Their seed and their offspring shall be known among the Gentiles. All who see them shall know these are the seed blessed by God; Isaiah 61, verse 10. ¹⁰and they shall have exceeding gladness in the Lord.” Let my soul rejoice exceedingly in the Lord, for He clothed me with the garment of salvation and the tunic of gladness. He put a miter around me like a bridegroom and adorned me with ornaments like a bride. Isaiah 61, verse 11. ¹¹As the earth causes its flower to grow, and as a garden its seeds, so shall the Lord cause righteousness to rise up, and exceeding joy before all the Gentiles.