The Meaning of Isaiah 61:1 Explained

Isaiah 61:1

KJV: 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;

YLT: 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.

Darby: The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because Jehovah hath anointed me to announce glad tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening of the prison to them that are bound;

ASV: 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;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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; 

What does Isaiah 61:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Isaiah spoke for the Messiah, as is clear from what he said about Him (cf. Isaiah 49:1; Isaiah 50:4). The Spirit of sovereign Yahweh would be upon Him (cf. Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 48:16). This is a verse in which all three members of the Trinity appear. This verse indicates that He would possess supernatural wisdom and capacity (cf. Genesis 41:38; Exodus 31:3; Numbers 11:17; Numbers 11:29), and that He would be able to bring justice and righteousness to the earth through His spoken word (cf. Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 32:15-16; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 44:3; Isaiah 48:16; Isaiah 59:21). His possession of the Spirit is a result of God anointing Him for His mission. He would need divine enablement by the Spirit to fulfill it (cf. 1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 10:6-7; 1 Samuel 16:3; 2 Samuel 23:1-7; Matthew 3:16-17). This Anointed One would do the Servant"s work.
The mission of the Anointed One would be to announce good news to distressed people (cf. Psalm 25:16-21; Matthew 9:12-13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31-32). In other occurrences of this verb, it is the hope of Israel that is in view, specifically deliverance from Babylon and deliverance from sin (cf. Isaiah 40:9; Isaiah 41:27; Isaiah 52:7; Isaiah 60:6). What "announcing good news to the afflicted" means, follows next (through Isaiah 61:3). First, it means He would mend the hearts of those so broken by life that they despair of having any hope. Second, it means the Anointed One would liberate those so enslaved that they could not break free (cf. Isaiah 1:27; Isaiah 11:3-5). Captives are in bondage to another person, and prisoners are bound to a place.

Context Summary

Isaiah 61:1-11 - "the Acceptable Year Of The Lord"
Messiah's mission, Isaiah 61:1-3. At Nazareth our Lord applied these words to Himself. Let us care for the outcasts as He did; but to do so, we need to be anointed with the Holy Spirit, who rested so mightily on Him. The acceptable year is clearly that of Leviticus 25:8-13. Our Lord, when quoting this, stopped at the comma, Isaiah 61:2, because the day of vengeance is not yet. See Luke 4:19. Mark that it is only for a day! God not only delivers, but anoints and crowns.
Messiah's kingdom, Isaiah 61:4-9. In days yet future, the ruined cities of Palestine shall be restored. In a spiritual sense, we also may appropriate this promise. When we receive the Pentecostal gift, we also witness the restoration of the wastes, which our sins have caused in our own lives and in the lives of others. Let us clasp to our hearts Isaiah 61:7-9.
Messiah's joy, Isaiah 61:10-11. Jesus is the true bridegroom of the soul; and we may appropriate our side of these happy words. Note this combination of imputed and imparted righteousness. The one is put on as a garment, Isaiah 61:10; the other blossoms out from within, Isaiah 61:11. Oh, that from our lives God would cause righteousness and praise to spring forth! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 61

1  The office of Christ
4  The forwardness
7  And blessing of the faithful

What do the individual words in Isaiah 61:1 mean?

The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon Me because has anointed Yahweh Me to preach good tidings to the poor He has sent He to heal the brokenhearted the brokenhearted to proclaim to the captives liberty and to [those who are] bound - the opening of the prison
ר֛וּחַ אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִ֖ה עָלָ֑י יַ֡עַן מָשַׁח֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֹתִ֜י לְבַשֵּׂ֣ר עֲנָוִ֗ים שְׁלָחַ֙נִי֙ לַחֲבֹ֣שׁ לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־ לֵ֔ב לִקְרֹ֤א לִשְׁבוּיִם֙ דְּר֔וֹר וְלַאֲסוּרִ֖ים פְּקַח־ קֽוֹחַ

ר֛וּחַ  The  Spirit 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
אֲדֹנָ֥י  of  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִ֖ה  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
עָלָ֑י  [is]  upon  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
יַ֡עַן  because 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יַעַן  
Sense: because, therefore, because that, on account of prep.
מָשַׁח֩  has  anointed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָשַׁח  
Sense: to smear, anoint, spread a liquid.
יְהוָ֨ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֹתִ֜י  Me 
Parse: Direct object marker, first person common singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
לְבַשֵּׂ֣ר  to  preach  good  tidings 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: בָּשַׂר  
Sense: to bear news, bear tidings, publish, preach, show forth.
עֲנָוִ֗ים  to  the  poor 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: עָנָו 
Sense: poor, humble, afflicted, meek.
שְׁלָחַ֙נִי֙  He  has  sent  He 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
לַחֲבֹ֣שׁ  to  heal 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: חָבַשׁ  
Sense: to tie, bind, bind on, bind up, saddle, restrain, bandage, govern.
לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־  the  brokenhearted 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
לֵ֔ב  the  brokenhearted 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
לִקְרֹ֤א  to  proclaim 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
לִשְׁבוּיִם֙  to  the  captives 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: שָׁבָה  
Sense: to take captive.
דְּר֔וֹר  liberty 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דְּרֹור 
Sense: a flowing, free run, liberty.
וְלַאֲסוּרִ֖ים  and  to  [those  who  are]  bound 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: אָסַר  
Sense: to tie, bind, imprison.
פְּקַח־  - 
Parse:
קֽוֹחַ  the  opening  of  the  prison 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: פְּקַח־קֹוחַ 
Sense: opening (of eyes), wide.