Read Isaiah 61 in the King James Bible (opens in a new tab)
Isaiah 61 presents the Spirit-anointed Servant who is sent to proclaim good tidings, heal the brokenhearted, announce liberty, and comfort those who mourn. The chapter promises that ruined places will be rebuilt and that God’s restored people will be called priests and ministers of the Lord. Their former shame will be replaced with a double portion and everlasting joy because the Lord loves justice and establishes an enduring covenant with them. The redeemed respond by rejoicing in the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness given by God. The chapter ends with the assurance that the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.
Isaiah 61:1 - 61:11
1 The Spirit of the Lord God [is] upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien [shall be] your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: [men] shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
7 For your shame [ye shall have] double; and [for] confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they [are] the seed [which] the Lord hath blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh [himself] with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth [herself] with her jewels.
11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.