Passage

Isaiah 61.1-2

Book: Isaiah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2. to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;"

"3. to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland 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 Jehovah, that he may be glorified. 4. 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." (Isaiah 61:1-4, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound; 2. to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;"

"3. to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland 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 Yahweh, that he may be glorified. 4. They will rebuild the old ruins. They will raise up the places long devastated. They will repair the ruined cities, that have been devastated for many generations." (Isaiah 61:1-4, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. 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; 2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;"

"3. 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. 4. 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." (Isaiah 61:1-4, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah [is] on me, Because Jehovah did anoint me To proclaim tidings to the humble, He sent me to bind the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives liberty, And to bound ones an opening of bands. 2. To proclaim the year of the good pleasure of Jehovah, And the day of vengeance of our God, To comfort all mourners."

"3. To appoint to mourners in Zion, To give to them beauty instead of ashes, The oil of joy instead of mourning, A covering of praise for a spirit of weakness, And He is calling to them, 'Trees of righteousness, The planting of Jehovah, to be beautified.' 4. And they have built the wastes of old, The desolations of the ancients they raise up, And they have renewed waste cities, The desolations of generation and generation." (Isaiah 61:1-4, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Isaiah son of Amoz (traditional unity) + LORD direct discourse
Audience: Judah under Uzziah/Jotham/Ahaz/Hezekiah + exilic remnant
Location: Jerusalem and Judah
Time period: ministry c. 740-680 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H0136 - adonai, adonai (Strong's H136). Also appears in: Genesis 18.1-15, Genesis 18.32, Judges 6.11-24.
H0430 - elohim, elohim (Strong's H430). Also appears in: Genesis 1.1, Genesis 1.2, Genesis 1.14-19.
H3068 - YHWH, YHWH (Strong's H3068). Also appears in: Genesis 2.4, Genesis 2.7, Genesis 2.16-17.
H3820 - lev, lev (Strong's H3820). Also appears in: Genesis 6.5, Genesis 6, Genesis 18.1-15.
H7307 - ruach, ruach (Strong's H7307). Also appears in: Genesis 1.2, Genesis 3.8, Genesis 6.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.