Ezra 6:22

6:22 They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion ¹  of the king of Assyria ²  toward them, so that he assisted ³  them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

Esther 9:22

9:22 as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies – the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.

Isaiah 35:10

35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ⁴ 

They will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ⁵ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ⁶  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ⁷ 

Isaiah 51:3

51:3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;

he will console all her ruins.

He will make her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the Garden of the Lord.

Happiness and joy will be restored to ⁸  her,

thanksgiving and the sound of music.

Isaiah 51:11

51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;

they will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ⁹ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ¹⁰  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 60:20

60:20 Your sun will no longer set;

your moon will not disappear; ¹² 

the Lord will be your permanent source of light;

your time ¹³  of sorrow will be over.

Isaiah 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ¹⁴  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ¹⁵  instead of discouragement. ¹⁶ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ¹⁷ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 65:18-19

65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem ¹⁹  to be a source of joy, ²⁰ 

and her people to be a source of happiness. ²¹ 

65:19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,

and my people will bring me happiness. ²² 

The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow

will never be heard in her again.

John 16:22

16:22 So also you have sorrow ²³  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ²⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “heart.”

² sn The expression “king of Assyria” is anachronistic, since Assyria fell in 612 b.c., long before the events of this chapter. Perhaps the expression is intended subtly to contrast earlier kings of Assyria who were hostile toward Israel with this Persian king who showed them favor.

³ tn Heb “to strengthen their hands.”

⁴ tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”

⁵ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

⁶ tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”

⁷ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

⁸ tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

⁹ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

¹⁰ tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”

¹¹ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”

¹² sn In this verse “sun” and “moon” refer to the Lord’s light, which will replace the sun and moon (see v. 19). Light here symbolizes the restoration of divine blessing and prosperity in conjunction with the Lord’s presence. See 30:26.

¹³ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

¹⁴ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

¹⁷ 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.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

¹⁹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁰ tn Heb “Jerusalem, joy.” The next verse suggests the meaning: The Lord will create Jerusalem to be a source of joy to himself.

²¹ tn Heb “her people, happiness.” See the preceding note.

²² tn Heb “and I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be happy in my people.”

²³ tn Or “distress.”

²⁴ sn An allusion to Isa 66:14 LXX, which reads: “Then you will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but he will be indignant toward his enemies.” The change from “you will see [me]” to I will see you places more emphasis on Jesus as the one who reinitiates the relationship with the disciples after his resurrection, but v. 16 (you will see me) is more like Isa 66:14. Further support for seeing this allusion as intentional is found in Isa 66:7, which uses the same imagery of the woman giving birth found in John 16:21. In the context of Isa 66 the passages refer to the institution of the messianic kingdom, and in fact the last clause of 66:14 along with the following verses (15-17) have yet to be fulfilled. This is part of the tension of present and future eschatological fulfillment that runs throughout the NT, by virtue of the fact that there are two advents. Some prophecies are fulfilled or partially fulfilled at the first advent, while other prophecies or parts of prophecies await fulfillment at the second.