Nehemiah 8:10
New Living Translation
10 And Nehemiah[a] continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
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- 8:10 Hebrew he.
Psalm 28:7-8
New Living Translation
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
8 The Lord gives his people strength.
He is a safe fortress for his anointed king.
Proverbs 17:22
New Living Translation
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9
New Living Translation
8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
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Ecclesiastes 9:7
New Living Translation
7 So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!
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Isaiah 12:1-3
New Living Translation
Songs of Praise for Salvation
12 In that day you will sing:
“I will praise you, O Lord!
You were angry with me, but not any more.
Now you comfort me.
2 See, God has come to save me.
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
The Lord God is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.”
3 With joy you will drink deeply
from the fountain of salvation!
Psalm 149:2
New Living Translation
2 O Israel, rejoice in your Maker.
O people of Jerusalem,[a] exult in your King.
Footnotes
- 149:2 Hebrew Zion.
Isaiah 61:10
New Living Translation
10 I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding
or a bride with her jewels.
Esther 9:19
New Living Translation
19 So to this day, rural Jews living in remote villages celebrate an annual festival and holiday on the appointed day in late winter,[a] when they rejoice and send gifts of food to each other.
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- 9:19 Hebrew on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar. This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurs in February or March.
2 Corinthians 8:2
New Living Translation
2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
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Ecclesiastes 2:24
New Living Translation
24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
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Esther 9:22
New Living Translation
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.
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Ecclesiastes 3:13
New Living Translation
13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
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Isaiah 35:1-4
New Living Translation
Hope for Restoration
35 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
the splendor of our God.
3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”
Isaiah 6:7-8
New Living Translation
7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”
8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
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1 Timothy 6:17-18
New Living Translation
17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.
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Joel 2:23
New Living Translation
23 Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
Rejoice in the Lord your God!
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
Once more the autumn rains will come,
as well as the rains of spring.
Philippians 3:4
New Living Translation
4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
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Luke 11:41
New Living Translation
41 So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
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Ecclesiastes 11:2
New Living Translation
2 But divide your investments among many places,[a]
for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
Footnotes
- 11:2 Hebrew among seven or even eight.
Ecclesiastes 5:18
New Living Translation
18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.
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Job 31:16-18
New Living Translation
16 “Have I refused to help the poor,
or crushed the hopes of widows?
17 Have I been stingy with my food
and refused to share it with orphans?
18 No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,
and all my life I have cared for widows.
Deuteronomy 26:11-13
New Living Translation
11 Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.
12 “Every third year you must offer a special tithe of your crops. In this year of the special tithe you must give your tithes to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that they will have enough to eat in your towns. 13 Then you must declare in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘I have taken the sacred gift from my house and have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, just as you commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten any of your commands.
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Revelation 11:10
New Living Translation
10 All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.
Read full chapterHoly Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.