The Year of the Lord’s Favor
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
4 They shall build up the fancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the gruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
8 For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;1
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting lcovenant with them.
9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the mrobe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.