Psalms 25:9

25:9 May he show ¹  the humble what is right! ² 

May he teach ³  the humble his way!

Psalms 34:2

34:2 I will boast ⁴  in the Lord;

let the oppressed hear and rejoice! ⁵ 

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ⁶  me. ⁷ 

He has commissioned ⁸  me to encourage ⁹  the poor,

to help ¹⁰  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ¹¹ 

to console all who mourn,

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ¹²  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ¹³  instead of discouragement. ¹⁴ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ¹⁵ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ¹⁶ 

John 16:22

16:22 So also you have sorrow ¹⁷  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ¹⁸ 

John 20:20

20:20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ¹⁹ 

¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

² tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.

³ tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

⁴ tn Heb “my soul will boast”; or better, “let my soul boast.” Following the cohortative form in v. 1, it is likely that the prefixed verbal form here is jussive.

⁵ tn The two prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best taken as jussives, for the psalmist is calling his audience to worship (see v. 3).

⁶ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

⁷ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

⁸ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

⁹ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

¹¹ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

¹² tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

¹³ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

¹⁵ 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.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

¹⁷ tn Or “distress.”

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ sn When the disciples recognized Jesus (now referred to as the Lord, cf. Mary’s words in v. 18) they were suddenly overcome with joy. This was a fulfillment of Jesus’ words to the disciples in the Farewell Discourse (16:20-22) that they would have sorrow while the world rejoiced, but that their sorrow would be turned to lasting joy when they saw him again.