49:25 Indeed,” says the Lord,
“captives will be taken from a warrior;
spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.
I will oppose your adversary
and I will rescue your children.
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,
1 tn Heb “lightly dressed and barefoot, and bare with respect to the buttocks, the nakedness of Egypt.”
2 tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.
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).
4 tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”
5 tn Or “proclaim good news to.”
6 tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”