King James Version
Isaiah 61
11 verses with commentary
The Year of the Lord's Favor
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;
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KJV Study Commentary
This prophetic passage, which Jesus read in the Nazareth synagogue and declared fulfilled (Luke 4:17-21), describes the Spirit-anointed Messiah's mission. 'The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me'—divine empowerment for ministry. 'Anointed me'—mashach, the root of Messiah (anointed one), designating Him for prophetic, priestly, and kingly service. His mission includes: 'preach good tidings unto the ...
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LXI.
(1) **The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me . . .**—We have obviously a new poem in the form of a soliloquy, and we ask, “Who is the speaker.?” The Jewish Targum and many modern critics hear only the voice of Isaiah. Guided by Isaiah 41:1; Isaiah 1:4-9, we recognise here, as there, the utterance of the ideal Servant of Jehovah. That view, it needs scarcely be said, is the one suggested to all...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. host of ... high ones--**the heavenly host, that is, either the visible host of heaven (the present economy of nature, affected by the sun, moon, and stars, the objects of idolatry, being abolished, Is 65:17; 60:19, simultaneously with the corrupt polity of men); or rather, "the invisible rulers of the darkness of this world," as the antithesis to "kings of the earth" shows. Angels, moreover...
Read full commentary →To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
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KJV Study Commentary
The Servant's mission to 'proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God' combines mercy (acceptable year - Jubilee release) with judgment (vengeance). Jesus quoted this in Luke 4:19 but stopped mid-verse - reading only 'acceptable year,' not 'day of vengeance,' because His first advent brings grace, His second brings judgment. This establishes two comings separated ...
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(2) **To proclaim the acceptable year . . .**—The Year of Jubilee is still, perhaps, in the prophet’s thoughts; but the chief point of the promise is the contrast between the “year” of favour and the single “day” of vengeance, reminding us of the like contrast in Exodus 20:5-6.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. in the pit--**rather, "for the pit" [Horsley]. "In the dungeon" [Maurer]. Image from captives thrust together into a dungeon.
**prison--**that is, as in a prison. This sheds light on the disputed passage, 1Pe 3:19, where also the prison is figurative: The "shutting up" of the Jews in Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, and again under Titus, was to be followed by a visitation of mercy "after m...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
Continuing Christ's mission statement, God promises to provide specific remedies: "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." Three exchanges demonstrate complete transformation. "Beauty for ashes" (<em>peer tachat epher</em>)—the Hebrew <em>peer</em> means a headdress or turban, replacing the ashes of...
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(3) **To appoint unto them that mourn . . .**—The verb (literally, *to set*) has no object either in the Hebrew or English, and it would seem as if the prophet corrected himself in the act of writing or dictating, and substituted for a word which would have applied only to the *coronet *one which was better fitted for the whole context.
**Beauty for ashes.**—Literally, a *diadem, *or *coronet, *wh...
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23. (Jr 3:17). Still future: of which Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem amidst hosannas was a pledge.
**his ancients--**the elders of His people; or in general, His ancient people, the Jews. After the overthrow of the world kingdoms. Jehovah's shall be set up with a splendor exceeding the light of the sun and moon under the previous order of things (Is 60:19, 20).
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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The promise continues: "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." Three parallel phrases emphasize comprehensive rebuilding. The Hebrew <em>charaboth olam</em> (old wastes), <em>shomemoth rishonim</em> (former desolations), and <em>shomemoth dor vador</em> (desolations of generation...
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(4) **They shall build the old wastes . . .**—Literally *the waste places of olden time: i.e., *not merely the cities that had fallen into ruins during the exile, but those that had been lying waste for generations. The words are parallel with those of Isaiah 58:12. By some commentators *strangers *is supplied from Isaiah 61:5 as the implied subject, as in Isaiah 60:10. Here, however, it would see...
Read full commentary →And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
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KJV Study Commentary
The role reversal continues: "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers." In the ancient world, conquered peoples performed agricultural labor for their conquerors. Here the pattern reverses—foreigners willingly serve Israel, performing necessary but humble work. The Hebrew <em>zarim</em> (strangers) and <em>nekar</em> (al...
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(5) **Strangers shall stand . . .***—i.e., *like servants waiting for their master’s orders. The implied thought of the whole passage is, as in the next verse, that all Israel is raised to the dignity of a priestly caste, leaving the rough work of the world to be done by foreigners, who stood on a lower level. (Comp. Ecclesiasticus 38:31-34.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 25 Is 25:1-12. Continuation of the Twenty-fourth Chapter. Thanksgiving for the Overthrow of the Apostate Faction, and the Setting Up of Jehovah's Throne on Zion.
The restoration from Babylon and re-establishment of the theocracy was a type and pledge of this.
**1. wonderful--**(Is 9:6).
**counsels of old--**(Is 42:9; 46:10). Purposes planned long ago; here, as to the deliverance of H...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The identity transformation is profound: "But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God." Israel receives priestly identity—<em>kohanim Adonai</em> (priests of the LORD) and <em>mesharetei Eloheinu</em> (ministers of our God). This fulfills Exodus 19:6: "ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests." Peter applies this to the church: "ye are a chosen genera...
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(6) **But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord . . .**—This had been the original ideal of the nation’s life (Exodus 19:6), forfeited for a time through the sins of the people (Exodus 28:1), to be fulfilled at last in the citizens of the new Jerusalem. (Comp. 1Peter 2:9.) The thought implies, it may be noted, that as Israel has succeeded to the position of the sons of Aaron, so mankind at lar...
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**2. a city ... heap--**Babylon, type of the seat of Antichrist, to be destroyed in the last days (compare Jr 51:37, with Re 18:1-24, followed, as here, by the song of the saints' thanksgiving in Re 19:1-21). "Heaps" is a graphic picture of Babylon and Nineveh as they now are.
**palace--**Babylon regarded, on account of its splendor, as a vast palace. But Maurer translates, "a citadel."
**of s...
Read full commentary →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.
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God promises comprehensive restoration: "For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion." The double-for-single exchange reverses Job's experience—he received double restoration after suffering (Job 42:10). "Shame" (<em>bosheth</em>) and "confusion" (<em>kelimah</em>) describe humiliation and disgrace. Instead comes "double" blessing and rejoicing in the...
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(7) **For your shame ye shall have double . . .**—*i.e., *double compensation for the suffering of years (comp. Zechariah 9:12), the general idea passing in the next clause into a double inheritance of territory. See Note on Isaiah 40:2.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. strong people--**This cannot apply to the Jews; but other nations on which Babylon had exercised its cruelty (Is 14:12) shall worship Jehovah, awed by the judgment inflicted on Babylon (Is 23:18).
**city--**not Babylon, which shall then be destroyed, but collectively for the cities of the surrounding nations.
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.
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KJV Study Commentary
God explains His motivation: "For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering." The emphatic "I the LORD" (<em>ani Adonai</em>) grounds this in God's character. He loves <em>mishpat</em> (judgment/justice) and hates <em>gazal be'olah</em> (robbery in/for burnt offering)—offerings obtained through oppression or injustice. This echoes the prophetic critique of worship divorced from e...
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(8) **I hate robbery for burnt offering.**—The Authorised Version follows the Vulg, and Luther, but the words, commonly applied as condemning the formal sacrifices of the wicked, do not fit in with the context, and it is better to take the rendering of the LXX. and the Targum, *I hate robbery with violence, *as referring to the spoliation which Israel had suffered at the hands of the Chaldæans.
**...
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**4. the poor ... needy--**the Jews, exiles from their country (Is 26:6; 41:17).
**heat--**calamity (Is 4:6; 32:2).
**blast--**that is, wrath.
**storm--**a tempest of rain, a winter flood, rushing against and overthrowing the wall of a house.
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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The covenant blessings extend to descendants: "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people." The Hebrew <em>zera</em> (seed) and <em>tse'etsa'eihem</em> (offspring) emphasize generational blessing. Their identity among the nations will be unmistakable. Why? "All that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed." The...
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(9) **Their seed shall be known**—i.e., as in Proverbs 31:23, shall be “renowned,” or “honourably recognised,” even by the heathen, as the people whom Jehovah hath blessed. (Comp. Isaiah 65:23.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. Translate, "As the heat in a dry land (is brought down by the shadow of a cloud, so) thou shalt bring down the tumult (the shout of triumph over their enemies) of strangers (foreigners); and as the heat by the shadow of the cloud (is brought low), so the branch (the offspring) of the terrible ones shall be brought low." Parkhurst translates the Hebrew for "branch," the exulting song. Jerome tra...
Read full commentary →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. decketh: Heb. decketh as a priest
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KJV Study Commentary
The exclamation 'I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God' expresses exuberant worship arising from experienced salvation. The reason: 'he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.' This imagery depicts imputed righteousness - God clothes naked sinners with Christ's perfect righteousness. The bridal language (bri...
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(10) **I will greatly rejoice . . .**—The speaker is again, as in Isaiah 61:1, the ideal Servant of Jehovah, who identifies himself with the people and slaves. The Targum, it may be noted, makes Jerusalem the speaker.
**The garments of salvation . . .**—The imagery is the same as that of Isaiah 59:17 and Isaiah 61:3, its entirely spiritual significance being, perhaps, still more strongly accentuat...
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**6. in this mountain--**Zion: Messiah's kingdom was to begin, and is to have its central seat hereafter, at Jerusalem, as the common country of "all nations" (Is 2:2, &c.).
**all people--**(Is 56:7; Da 7:14; Lu 2:10).
**feast--**image of felicity (Psa 22:26, 27; Mt 8:11; Lu 14:15; Re 19:9; compare Psa 36:8; 87:1-7).
**fat things--**delicacies; the rich mercies of God in Christ (Is 55:2;...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The chapter concludes with beautiful imagery: "For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth." The agricultural metaphors emphasize natural, inevitable growth—when seed is planted in good soil, growth follows necessarily. The application: "so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."...
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(11) **As the earth bringeth forth her bud . . .**—The passage is memorable as at least suggesting the leading thought of the parable of the sower, and the appropriation of that title to Himself by the Son of Man (Matthew 13:3-23; Matthew 13:37; Mark 4:26-29).
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. face of ... covering--**image from mourning, in which it was usual to cover the face with a veil (2Sa 15:30). "Face of covering," that is, the covering itself; as in Job 41:13, "the face of his garment," the garment itself. The covering or veil is the mist of ignorance as to a future state, and the way to eternal life, which enveloped the nations (Ep 4:18) and the unbelieving Jew (2Co 3:15). ...
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