'Joy' in the Bible

“Whereas you [Jerusalem] have been abandoned and hatedWith no one passing through,I will make you an object of pride forever,A joy from generation to generation.

To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:To give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning],The oil of joy instead of mourning,The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God],The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Instead of your [former] shame you will have a double portion;And instead of humiliation your people will shout for joy over their portion.Therefore in their land they will possess double [what they had forfeited];Everlasting joy will be theirs.

“Indeed, My servants will shout for joy from a happy heart,But you will cry out with a heavy heart,And you shall wail and howl from a broken spirit.

“But be glad and rejoice forever over what I create;Behold, I am creating Jerusalem to be a source of rejoicingAnd her people a joy.

Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble [with awe-filled reverence] at His word:“Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My Name’s sake,Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.’But they will be put to shame.

“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her;Rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her,

O Lord, You know and understand;Remember me [thoughtfully], take notice of me,take vengeance for me on my persecutors.Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;Know that for Your sake I endure [continual] rebuke and dishonor.

Your words were found and I ate them,And Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart;For I have been called by Your name,O Lord God of hosts.

“They will come with weeping [in repentance and for joy],And by [their] prayer [for the future] I will lead them;I will make them walk by streams of waters,On a straight path in which they will not stumble,For I am a Father to Israel,And Ephraim (Israel) is My firstborn.”

“They will come and sing aloud and shout for joy on the height of Zion,And will be radiant [with joy] over the goodness of the Lord—For the grain, for the new wine, for the oil,And for the young of the flock and the herd.And their life will be like a watered garden,And they shall never sorrow or languish again.

“Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,And the young men and old, together,For I will turn their mourning into joyAnd will comfort them and make them rejoice after their sorrow.

Jerusalem will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for it, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace (prosperity, security, stability) that I provide for it.’

the [sound of the] voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the [song-filled] voice of those who say,“Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts,For the Lord is good;For His [steadfast] lovingkindness (mercy) endures forever”;and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

“So joy and gladness are taken awayFrom the fruitful field and from the land of Moab.And I have made the wine cease from the wine presses;No one treads the grapes with shouting.Their shouting is not joyful shouting [but is instead, a battle cry].

“Why has the renowned city not been deserted,The city of My joy!

“Then heaven and earth and all that is in themWill shout and sing for joy over Babylon,For the destroyers will come against her from the north,”Says the Lord.

All who pass along the wayClap their hands in derision at you;They scoff and shake their headsAt the Daughter of Jerusalem, saying,“Is this the city that was called‘The perfection of beauty,The joy of all the earth’?”

The joy of our hearts has ended;Our dancing has been turned into mourning.

‘As for you, son of man, on the day when I take their strength and their stronghold from them, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes and their heart’s [chief] delight (the temple), and I also take their sons and their daughters,

‘The merchants among the people hiss at you [with malicious joy];You have become a horror and a source of terrors.You will cease to be forever.’”’”

therefore thus says the Lord God, “Most certainly in the fire of My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with uttermost contempt, so that they might empty it out [and possess it] as prey.”

The vine dries upAnd the fig tree fails;The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree,All the trees of the field dry up,Indeed, joy dries up and withdrawsFrom the sons of men.

Has not the food been cut off before our eyes,Joy and gladness from the house of our God?

“The Lord your God is in your midst,A Warrior who saves.He will rejoice over you with joy;He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins],He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth [month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls], the fast of the fifth [month to mourn the temple’s destruction], the fast of the seventh [month to mourn Gedaliah’s assassination], and the fast of the tenth [month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem] will become times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so [to bring this about] love truth and peace.’

But for you who fear My name [with awe-filled reverence] the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go forward and leap [joyfully] like calves [released] from the stall.