² He has sent me to say,
    ‘This is the year when the Lord will be kind to his people.’
It is the time when our God will punish our enemies.
He has sent me to comfort people who are weeping
    because they are sad.
³ In that way, the people in Zion who are sad
    will become strong again.
They will not put ashes on their heads any more.^[a]
    Instead, they will wear beautiful hats.
Instead of weeping,
    they will have olive oil to show their joy.
They will not feel upset,
    but they will sing happy songs to praise God.
People will call them ‘Strong trees that show God's righteousness’.
They will be like trees that the Lord himself has planted
    to show how great he is.
⁴ God's people will build again their towns
    that became heaps of stones a long time ago.
Once again, they will live in the cities
    that have been empty for so long.