Isa 61 | EE | STEP | The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me. That is because the LORD has anointed me. He has anointed me so that I will tell good news to poor people. He has sent me to make people happy again. They are the people that trouble has caused to be very sad. He has sent me to tell the people in a prison that they are free. And he sent me so that I can tell good news to the people in a prison. The good news is that they can come out of the dark places.

Isaiah 61

The second Song of the Messiah

1 The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me. That is because the LORD has anointed me. He has anointed me so that I will tell good news to poor people. He has sent me to make people happy again. They are the people that trouble has caused to be very sad. He has sent me to tell the people in a prison that they are free. And he sent me so that I can tell good news to the people in a prison. The good news is that they can come out of the dark places. ^{▼▼61:1 Verse 1 is about people who are very sad. They are sad because of what has happened to them. The Messiah will help them to feel better.}

2 He has sent me to say this. Now is the year when the LORD will be kind. Also, the day when God will punish people is near. He has sent me to everybody who is very sad. They are so sad that it causes them to weep. He has sent me so that I can make them happy again.

3 He has sent me to do these things. I will do them on behalf of all those people in Zion whose spirits are hurting:

· They will not have ashes on them. But they will have flowers on them instead.

· They will have on them olive oil that will make them happy. Then, they will not weep.

· Their spirits will not still be without hope. Praise will be like a coat for them, instead.

People will say that they are like large trees of righteousness. They will be like trees that the LORD has planted. They will show to people that the LORD is beautiful.

4 They will build again what enemies broke into pieces a long time ago. And they will make places new again that enemies destroyed a long time ago. They will mend the cities that someone destroyed. Someone destroyed those cities when their grandparents were alive! ^{▼▼61:4 In verses 4-9, Isaiah uses the words ‘they’, ‘them’, ‘you’ and ‘your’. They all mean ‘those people in Zion’, (verse 3).}

5 Foreigners will come and they will be shepherds to your animals. People from foreign countries will work in your fields and in your vineyards.

6 And people will call you ‘priests of the LORD’. Your name will be ‘servants of our God’. You will have valuable things from every country. And you will tell everybody about how rich they have made you.

7 You will not be ashamed, because you will be twice as happy instead. And things will not disappoint them. They will sing aloud about what the LORD has given to them. So, they will have twice as much as they had in their land. And they will always be very happy.

8 That is because I, the LORD, love justice. I do not like people who take things for themselves. I am speaking about the things that they offer on my altar. And I will give a gift to them, because I will always be kind to them. I will make a covenant with them that will never have an end.

9 And the people in every country will know their children. People from every country will know their descendants. Everybody who sees them will agree to this. They are the descendants that the LORD has blessed.

The third Song of the Messiah

10 I have great pleasure in the LORD. My spirit is very happy in my God. He has put the clothes on to me that make me safe. He has dressed me in the clothes of righteousness. I am like a man at his marriage, with a special hat like a priest‘s. And I am like a woman at her marriage whose valuable stones make her beautiful.

11 The LORD God will do something. He will cause righteousness and praise to appear to every country. The ground causes young plants to come up. And a garden causes seeds to grow. It will be like that.