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The Good News of Salvation

  1“The Spirit of the Lord Godis upon Me,
   Because the Lordhas anointed Me
   To preach good tidings to the poor;
   He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
   To proclaim liberty to the captives,
   And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
   2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
   And the day of vengeance of our God;
   To comfort all who mourn,
   3To console those who mourn in Zion,
   To give them beauty for ashes,
   The oil of joy for mourning,
   The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
   That they may be called trees of righteousness,
   The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
  4And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
   They shall raise up the former desolations,
   And they shall repair the ruined cities,
   The desolations of many generations.
   5Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
   And the sons of the foreigner
   Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
   6But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
   They shall call you the servants of our God.
   You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
   And in their glory you shall boast.
   7Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
   And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
   Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
   Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
  8“For I, the Lord, love justice;
   I hate robbery for burnt offering;
   I will direct their work in truth,
   And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
   9Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
   And their offspring among the people.
   All who see them shall acknowledge them,
   That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”
  10I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
   My soul shall be joyful in my God;
   For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
   He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
   As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
   And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
   11For as the earth brings forth its bud,
   As the garden causes 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.