John 3:29

3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ¹  when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. ² 

John 15:11

15:11 I have told you these things ³  so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.

John 16:22-24

16:22 So also you have sorrow ⁴  now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. ⁵  16:23 At that time ⁶  you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth, ⁷  whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. ⁸  16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it, ⁹  so that your joy may be complete.

John 16:33

16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, ¹⁰  but take courage ¹¹  – I have conquered the world.” ¹² 

Nehemiah 8:10

8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ¹³  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Psalms 43:4

43:4 Then I will go ¹⁴  to the altar of God,

to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, ¹⁵ 

so that I express my thanks to you, ¹⁶  O God, my God, with a harp.

Psalms 126:5

126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant

will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. ¹⁷ 

Acts 13:52

13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy ¹⁸  and with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17

14:17 For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit ¹⁹  is love, ²⁰  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²¹ 

Galatians 5:1

Freedom of the Believer

5:1 For freedom ²²  Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke ²³  of slavery.

Galatians 1:4

1:4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father,

Galatians 1:2

1:2 and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia.

Galatians 1:12

1:12 For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source; ²⁴  instead I received it ²⁵  by a revelation of Jesus Christ. ²⁶ 

[3:29]  ¹ tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).

[3:29]  ² tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”

[15:11]  ³ tn Grk “These things I have spoken to you.”

[16:22]  ⁴ tn Or “distress.”

[16:22]  ⁵ 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.

[16:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “And in that day.”

[16:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:23]  ⁸ sn This statement is also found in John 15:16.

[16:24]  ⁹ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:33]  ¹⁰ tn The one Greek term θλῖψις (qliyis) has been translated by an English hendiadys (two terms that combine for one meaning) “trouble and suffering.” For modern English readers “tribulation” is no longer clearly understandable.

[16:33]  ¹¹ tn Or “but be courageous.”

[16:33]  ¹² tn Or “I am victorious over the world,” or “I have overcome the world.”

[8:10]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[43:4]  ¹⁴ tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”

[43:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[43:4]  ¹⁶ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.

[126:5]  ¹⁷ sn O. Borowski says regarding this passage: “The dependence on rain for watering plants, the uncertainty of the quantity and timing of the rains, and the possibility of crop failure due to pests and diseases appear to have kept the farmer in a gloomy mood during sowing” (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 54). Perhaps the people were experiencing a literal drought, the effects of which cause them to lament their plight as they plant their seed in hopes that the rain would come. However, most take the language as metaphorical. Like a farmer sowing his seed, the covenant community was enduring hardship as they waited for a new outpouring of divine blessing. Yet they are confident that a time of restoration will come and relieve their anxiety, just as the harvest brings relief and joy to the farmer.

[13:52]  ¹⁸ sn The citizens of Pisidian Antioch were not discouraged by the persecution, but instead were filled with joy.

[5:22]  ¹⁹ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

[5:22]  ²⁰ sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

[5:22]  ²¹ tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

[5:1]  ²² tn Translating the dative as “For freedom” shows the purpose for Christ setting us free; however, it is also possible to take the phrase in the sense of means or instrument (“with [or by] freedom”), referring to the freedom mentioned in 4:31 and implied throughout the letter.

[5:1]  ²³ sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery.

[1:12]  ²⁴ tn Or “I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it.”

[1:12]  ²⁵ tn The words “I received it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[1:12]  ²⁶ tn It is difficult to determine what kind of genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ihsou Cristou) is. If it is a subjective genitive, the meaning is “a revelation from Jesus Christ” but if objective genitive, it is “a revelation about Jesus Christ.” Most likely this is objective since the explanation in vv. 15-16 mentions God revealing the Son to Paul so that he might preach, although the idea of a direct revelation to Paul at some point cannot be ruled out.