Psalms 51:12

51:12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!

Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! ¹ 

Isaiah 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ²  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ³  instead of discouragement. ⁴ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ⁵ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ⁶ 

Isaiah 65:18

65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem ⁷  to be a source of joy, ⁸ 

and her people to be a source of happiness. ⁹ 

Isaiah 66:13-14

66:13 As a mother consoles a child, ¹⁰ 

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ¹¹ 

and you will be revived. ¹² 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ¹³ 

[51:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and [with] a willing spirit sustain me.” The psalmist asks that God make him the kind of person who willingly obeys the divine commandments. The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[61:3]  ² tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ³ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ⁵ 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.”

[61:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[65:18]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[65:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “Jerusalem, joy.” The next verse suggests the meaning: The Lord will create Jerusalem to be a source of joy to himself.

[65:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “her people, happiness.” See the preceding note.

[66:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”

[66:14]  ¹¹ tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

[66:14]  ¹² tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

[66:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”