Bible Strands
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD 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 liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The speaker declares that the Spirit of Yahweh rests upon him and that Yahweh has commissioned him to address the poor, brokenhearted, captives, and prisoners. The immediate audience is unspecified, but the commission targets those experiencing poverty, grief, and captivity.
The words — ר֛וּחַ (Ru.ach) literally means spirit or breath, and מָשַׁח֩ (ma.Shach) literally means he has anointed. These terms establish the speaker’s authority as derived from divine empowerment rather than human selection.
The thread — The same Spirit-anointed mission appears in Luke 4:18, and the release of prisoners aligns with the directive in Isaiah 42:7. The text also connects to Isaiah 61:2’s follow-up command to proclaim favor and comfort mourners.
Why it lands — The text states that a divinely appointed messenger brings liberation and healing to the oppressed. It requires the reader to acknowledge this concrete mission of proclamation and relief instead of treating the passage as abstract theology.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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;
Cross-references
- Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- Luke 7:22 So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
- Isaiah 42:7 to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
- Matthew 11:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
- Psalms 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
- Isaiah 42:1 “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- Zechariah 9:11 As for you, because of the blood of My covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.
- Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
- Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.