Read the Bible

^1 (a)The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has ^(b)anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;^[a]
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and ^(c)the opening of the prison to those who are bound;^[b]
2 (d)to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    ^(e)and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    ^(f)to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
^(g)the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
^(h)that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, ⁽ⁱ⁾that he may be glorified.^[c]
4 (j)They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

^5 (k)Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
^6 (l)but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
^(m)you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
    and in their glory you shall boast.
^7 (n)Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
    they shall have everlasting joy.

^8 (o)For I the Lord love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;^[d]
(p)I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    ^(q)and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

^10 (r)I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
^(s)for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself ^(t)like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    ^(u)and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause ^(v)righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.