4:19

This verse tells the fourth 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 proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor: The phrase to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor means “to announce that this is the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This phrase certainly reminded people of the Old Testament year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:10). This was a special year of freedom and forgiveness for Israelites. The year of Jubilee foreshadowed the time when the Messiah would proclaim God’s forgiveness of people.

to proclaim: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as proclaim is the same verb as in 4:18c. It means “to announce, to tell, to send out news about something.”

the year of the Lord’s favor: There are two ways to interpret the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the year of the Lord’s favor:

(1) It means the year when the Lord will show his favor to people. For example:

the time when the Lord will show his kindness (New Century Version)

(New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New Century Version; and probably Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, Revised English Bible)

(2) It means the year that the Lord has favored, that is, the year that the Lord has chosen, or the year that is acceptable to him. For example:

This is the year the Lord has chosen (Contemporary English Version)

(King James Version, Contemporary English Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

year: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as year has a general meaning here. It refers to a period of time. In this context it refers to the time of the Messiah’s ministry when the Lord will show his favor. It probably does not refer specifically to a literal calendar year. For this reason, it is good to translate the word in a general way. For example:

to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness (New Century Version)

the Lord’s favor: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Lord’s favor refers to the Lord’s kindness. God will show his kindness or show that he is kind. For example:

the Lord will show his kindness (New Century Version)

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