Add parallel Print Page Options

13 The young women will dance for joy,
    and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
    I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.

Read full chapter

11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
    You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,

Read full chapter

To all who mourn in Israel,[a]
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
    that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 61:3 Hebrew in Zion.

11 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem[a] singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 51:11 Hebrew Zion.

I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.
    You will again be happy
    and dance merrily with your tambourines.

Read full chapter

Dedication of Jerusalem’s Wall

27 For the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem, the Levites throughout the land were asked to come to Jerusalem to assist in the ceremonies. They were to take part in the joyous occasion with their songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres.

Read full chapter

22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.

Read full chapter

19 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter[a] are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 8:19 Hebrew in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months. The fourth month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of June and July. The fifth month usually occurs within the months of July and August. The seventh month usually occurs within the months of September and October. The tenth month usually occurs within the months of December and January.

20 Your sun will never set;
    your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.
    Your days of mourning will come to an end.

Read full chapter

Praise his name with dancing,
    accompanied by tambourine and harp.

Read full chapter

22 He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy.

Read full chapter

43 Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy. The women and children also participated in the celebration, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away.

Read full chapter

22 Then they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. There was great joy throughout the land because the Lord had caused the king of Assyria[a] to be favorable to them, so that he helped them to rebuild the Temple of God, the God of Israel.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 6:22 King Darius of Persia is here identified as the king of Assyria because Persia had conquered the Babylonian Empire, which included the earlier Assyrian Empire.

18 Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!
    And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness.
    Her people will be a source of joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
    and delight in my people.
And the sound of weeping and crying
    will be heard in it no more.

Read full chapter

The Lord will comfort Israel[a] again
    and have pity on her ruins.
Her desert will blossom like Eden,
    her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found there.
    Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 51:3 Hebrew Zion; also in 51:16.

10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem[a] singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 35:10 Hebrew Zion.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends