Yesaya 50:5

50:5 The sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly; ¹ 

I have not rebelled,

I have not turned back.

Yesaya 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ²  me. ³ 

He has commissioned ⁴  me to encourage ⁵  the poor,

to help ⁶  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

[50:5]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, “makes me obedient.” The text reads literally, “has opened for me an ear.”

[61:1]  ² tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ³ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ⁴ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ⁵ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”