Isaiah

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

² and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

³ to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

⁴ and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

⁵ foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

⁶ you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.

⁷ my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.

⁸ I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹ and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

¹⁰ my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹¹ and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.