4:18–19

These verses are from the ancient Greek translation of Isaiah 61:1–2. They contain a prophecy concerning the Messiah. In it, the Messiah is speaking about himself, so the word “me” refers to the Messiah.

In this passage, there are four groups of people:

(a) poor people

(b) prisoners

(c) blind people

(d) oppressed people

Some, and perhaps all, of these groups of people have both a literal and a spiritual meaning. It is good to refer to these groups of people in a literal way that can also be interpreted in a spiritual sense.

4:18a

The Spirit of the Lord is on Me: The phrase The Spirit of the Lord is on Me means, “The Spirit of God is with me to give me power.” It indicates that the Lord’s Spirit was with the Messiah. Some other ways to translate this are:

The Lord’s Spirit has come to me (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The Lord has put his Spirit in me (New Century Version)
-or-
The Spirit of God is with me ⌊to help me⌋

This phrase is similar to one in 2:25d.

The Spirit of the Lord: The word Lord here refers to God. If this is not clear in your language, you can translate this as:

the Spirit of God
-or-
God’s Spirit
-or-
the Spirit of the Lord God

See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

Spirit: You should use the same word for Spirit here as in the term Holy Spirit in 4:1a. Be careful to use a word that does not refer to a ghost or spirit of a dead person.

4:18b

because He has anointed Me: The clause because He has anointed Me refers back to 4:18a. The reason why the Lord’s Spirit was with the Messiah was that the Lord had anointed him. The Lord’s Spirit was with him to enable him to do the ministry described in 4:18–19.

It is also possible to leave the connection between 4:18a and 4:18b implied. For example:

18aThe Spirit of the Lord is with me. 18bHe has anointed me… (God’s Word)

He has anointed Me: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as anointed means “poured oil on the head.” In Old Testament times, people poured oil on the head of someone to appoint him to a special task or role.

Here the word anointed has a figurative sense. It indicates that God had appointed the Messiah to do the things that are listed in 4:18–19. It does not indicate that God literally poured oil on the Messiah’s head. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

he has appointed me (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
he has chosen me (Contemporary English Version)

to preach good news to the poor: The expression to preach good news is the translation of one Greek word. The Spirit of God had appointed the Messiah to tell poor people about the good things that God would do to help them.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

to tell the Good News to the poor (God’s Word)
-or-
to bring Good News to the poor (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
to announce to poor people the message ⌊from God⌋ that causes joy

Be sure that the term you choose does not refer only to a news report or to a story that is not true.

This word also occurs in 1:19b, 2:10b, and 3:18b.

the poor: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the poor refers to people who do not have enough food or other things that they need, such as clothing or shelter.

4:18c

He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives: The clause He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives means that God had sent the Messiah to announce to people who were captives that they would be set free. Another way to translate this is:

He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released (New Living Translation (2004))

proclaim liberty to the captives: The word proclaim means “to announce, to tell, to send out news about something.” The phrase proclaim liberty to the captives means to tell prisoners/captives that there is freedom for them. The captives will be released and liberated.

In some languages, it may be necessary to translate liberty as a verb or adjective. For example:

to tell the captives that they are free (New Century Version)

The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as liberty often means “forgiveness.” So here liberty could also have a spiritual sense. It could mean that the Messiah/Christ will proclaim that he offers forgiveness to those who are captive to sin. For example:

to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin (God’s Word)

the captives: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as captives refers to people who are “prisoners of war.” They are captured during a war and taken to another country. For this reason, while many English versions translate this word as “prisoners,” many others, like the Berean Standard Bible, translate it as “captives.” This word does not refer to people who are in prison because they have committed a crime. Another way to translate this is:

people who are being held captive

The word captives can also refer to people who are “prisoners to sin.” See the example above from the God’s Word.

If you have several words for “prisoner,” try to choose a term that can refer to captives of both types: prisoners of war and prisoners of sin.

4:18d

This verse tells the second thing that God had sent the Messiah to proclaim. In some languages it may be necessary to repeat the verb “sent” from 4:18c. For example:

and ⌊he sent me⌋ ⌊to declare/announce⌋ recovery of sight for the blind

and recovery of sight to the blind: The clause recovery of sight to the blind indicates here that the Messiah would cause blind people to see again.

In some languages, it may be natural to use verbs instead of the nouns recovery and sight. For example:

and to tell the blind that they can see again (New Century Version)

recovery of sight: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as recovery of sight implies that these blind people had once been able to see and had become blind. Now the Messiah would cause them to see again.

4:18e

This verse tells the third thing that God had sent the Messiah to proclaim. In some languages it may be necessary to repeat the verb “sent” from 4:18c. For example:

⌊He has sent me⌋ to release the oppressed

to release: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to release is literally “send into freedom.” So it is possible to translate this phrase as “to free.” For example:

to free (New Century Version)

the oppressed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as oppressed is literally “crushed” or “broken.” This refers to people whom others had mistreated and hurt. Some other ways to translate this are:

broken victims (Revised English Bible)
-or-
those who have been treated unfairly (New Century Version)
-or-
everyone who suffers (Contemporary English Version)

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