3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B: 1st Reading

Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
      because the LORD has anointed me;
   he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
      to heal the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim liberty to the captives
      and release to the prisoners,
   to announce a year of favor from the LORD
      and a day of vindication by our God.

   I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
      in my God is the joy of my soul;
   for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
      and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
   like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
      like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
   As the earth brings forth its plants,
      and a garden makes its growth spring up,
   so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
      spring up before all the nations.