Deuteronomy 12:7

12:7 Both you and your families 1  must feast there before the Lord your God and rejoice in all the output of your labor with which he 2  has blessed you.

Deuteronomy 12:12

12:12 You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages 3  (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you). 4 

Deuteronomy 16:11

16:11 You shall rejoice before him 5  – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, 6  the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

Deuteronomy 16:14-15

16:14 You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages. 7  16:15 You are to celebrate the festival seven days before the Lord your God in the place he 8  chooses, for he 9  will bless you in all your productivity and in whatever you do; 10  so you will indeed rejoice!

Deuteronomy 26:14

26:14 I have not eaten anything when I was in mourning, or removed any of it while ceremonially unclean, or offered any of it to the dead; 11  I have obeyed you 12  and have done everything you have commanded me.

Ecclesiastes 3:4

3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Isaiah 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, 13  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, 14  instead of discouragement. 15 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, 16 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 17 

Malachi 2:13

2:13 You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears 18  as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you.

1 tn Heb “and your houses,” referring to entire households. The pronouns “you” and “your” are plural in the Hebrew text.

2 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

3 tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”

4 sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.

5 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

6 tn Heb “gates.”

7 tn Heb “in your gates.”

8 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

9 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

10 tn Heb “in all the work of your hands” (so NASB, NIV); NAB, NRSV “in all your undertakings.”

11 sn These practices suggest overtones of pagan ritual, all of which the confessor denies having undertaken. In Canaan they were connected with fertility practices associated with harvest time. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 335-36.

12 tn Heb “the Lord my God.” See note on “he” in 26:2.

13 tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

14 tn Heb “garment of praise.”

15 tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

16 tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

17 tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

18 sn You cover the altar of the Lord with tears. These tears are the false tears of hypocrisy, not genuine tears of repentance. The people weep because the Lord will not hear them, not because of their sin.