Isaiah 61

A figure anointed by God’s Spirit announces good news to the poor, freedom to captives and comfort to mourners. God promises to turn ashes into beauty, rebuild ruins and make His people a blessing before the nations. The chapter ends with a joyful song of salvation and the promise that righteousness will spring up like a garden. Jesus read the opening verses in the synagogue at Nazareth and applied them to Himself.

Isaiah 61:1

The speaker is filled with God’s Spirit and set apart for a mission: to bring hope to the humble, heal the crushed in heart, and announce release to those held in bondage. Jesus read these words at Nazareth and said they were being fulfilled in Him.

BSA: anointed (“set apart, consecrated”): Anointing marked someone out and equipped them for God’s work, as with kings and priests. brokenhearted (“those with shattered emotions, crushed spirits”): The wound is deep inward grief, and God sends someone to bind it up like a physician.

Hebrew: מָשַׁח (māshaḥ, H4886) — “to anoint, to smear with oil.” From this verb comes the word Messiah, ’the Anointed One.’ The passage points to a person chosen and empowered by God.

See also: Luke 4:16-21; Isaiah 42:1.

Isaiah 61:2

The message has two sides. There is a season of God’s favor, when He welcomes and restores, and a day when He deals with evil. Comfort for mourners is the heart of it. Notice that Jesus stopped reading before the ‘vengeance’ phrase.

BSA: favor (“acceptance, delight”): God’s favor is more than tolerance. It is His glad welcome toward people.

See also: Luke 4:19; 2 Corinthians 6:2.

Isaiah 61:3

God trades sorrow for gladness. Ashes, the sign of grief, become a beautiful crown. Mourning becomes joy, and heaviness becomes praise. The restored people are like strong, well-rooted trees that God Himself planted, and their lives show His glory.

BSA: ashes (“remains of the dead, worthless things”): Ashes stood for loss and death, so God is exchanging what is worthless for what is lovely. oaks (“strong trees”): The people are pictured as sturdy and lasting, because God planted them.

Hebrew: פְּאֵר (pe’er, H6287) — “beauty, headdress, splendid turban.” It names a festive head covering worn at celebrations, set against the ashes sprinkled on the head in mourning. There is a wordplay in Hebrew between the two.

See also: Psalm 1:3; Jeremiah 17:7-8.

Isaiah 61:4

Those who were restored become restorers. Cities that lay in ruins for generations will be rebuilt. God’s comfort does not stop with feelings. It results in renewed lives and places.

BSA: rebuild (“restore to a former state, renovate”): The work is recovery of what was lost, not just a fresh start.

See also: Isaiah 58:12; Amos 9:14.

Isaiah 61:5

Outsiders will do the daily labor of herding, plowing and tending vines. This pictures a time of peace and prosperity when God’s people are freed for higher service and the nations are brought into the blessing.

BSA: feed (“care for, tend to”): The word is the language of a shepherd looking after the flock.

Isaiah 61:6

The whole people will be known as priests, set apart to serve God and to stand between Him and the world. They will enjoy the nations’ wealth. The New Testament applies the priestly calling to all believers in Christ.

BSA: priests (“ministers, spiritual leaders”): A priest draws near to God and serves Him, so this describes the people’s honored calling.

See also: Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9.

Isaiah 61:7

Past disgrace will be repaid with abundance. The double portion recalls the firstborn’s share of an inheritance. Shame will be replaced by joyful possession of the land, and the joy will never end.

BSA: everlasting (“age-abiding”): This joy belongs to the age to come and is not a passing mood.

See also: Deuteronomy 21:17.

Isaiah 61:8

God explains why He acts: He loves what is right and hates theft and wrongdoing. Because He is faithful, He will reward His people for what they have suffered and bind Himself to them with a covenant that does not end.

BSA: faithfulness (“truth”): God’s reliability is the ground of every promise here. covenant (“promise, agreement”): God commits Himself in a binding pledge, and He keeps it.

Hebrew: בְּרִית (berit, H1285) — “covenant.” The word is often used with the verb ‘cut,’ recalling the ancient ritual of sealing an agreement. It marks a solemn, binding promise.

See also: Isaiah 55:3; Jeremiah 32:40.

Isaiah 61:9

God’s blessing will be so visible that other nations will take notice. Their children and later generations will carry the same mark. Those who look at them will say that the LORD has truly blessed them.

BSA: blessed (“praised, honored”): Others will see the people as honored by God Himself.

See also: Genesis 12:2-3.

Isaiah 61:10

Now a joyful voice speaks, that of the redeemed. Salvation and righteousness are pictured as clothing that God Himself puts on His people, as lovely as a groom’s festive dress or a bride’s jewels. The joy comes from what God has given, not from their own work.

BSA: clothed (“wrapped me, dressed me”): God is the one who dresses the believer, so the garment is a gift. righteousness (“justice, virtue”): It is a covering of right standing that shows on the outside, like a robe.

See also: Revelation 19:7-8; Zechariah 3:4.

Isaiah 61:11

The chapter closes with a picture from farming. As soil makes seed sprout without fail, God will make righteousness and praise rise up for all nations to see. What He plants, He causes to grow.

BSA: spring up (“grow, flourish”): God’s work takes root and spreads like a garden in bloom.

See also: Isaiah 55:10-11; Psalm 98:2.