Luke 1:14

1:14 Joy and gladness will come ¹  to you, and many will rejoice at ²  his birth, ³ 

Genesis 21:6

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ⁴  Everyone who hears about this ⁵  will laugh ⁶  with me.”

Isaiah 66:9-10

66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”

asks the Lord.

“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”

asks your God. ⁷ 

66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

Romans 12:15

12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ⁸  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ⁹  – which is your reasonable service.

Colossians 1:26

1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints.

[1:14]  ¹ tn Grk “This will be joy and gladness.”

[1:14]  ² tn Or “because of.”

[1:14]  ³ tn “At his birth” is more precise as the grammatical subject (1:58), though “at his coming” is a possible force, since it is his mission, as the following verses note, that will really bring joy.

[21:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”

[21:6]  ⁵ tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:6]  ⁶ sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).

[66:9]  ⁷ sn The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “Of course not!”

[12:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ⁹ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.