17  Is it not yet a very little while

until Lebanon shall be ^fturned into a fruitful field,

and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?

18  In that day ^gthe deaf shall hear

the words of a book,

and out of their gloom and darkness

^hthe eyes of the blind shall see.

19  The ⁱmeek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,

and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

6  then shall the lame man ^aleap like a deer,

and the tongue of the ^bmute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

and ^cstreams in the desert;

1  ^uThe Spirit of the Lord God is ^vupon me,

because the Lord has ^wanointed me

to bring ^xgood news to the poor;¹

he has sent me to ^ybind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and ^zthe opening of the prison to those who are bound;²

2  to proclaim ^athe year of the Lord’s favor,

and the ^bday of vengeance of our God;

to ^ccomfort all who mourn;

3  to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

the ^doil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the ^eplanting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.³