1 Chr 16:27
27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.
Neh 8:10
10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
Job 8:21
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
Ps 4:
Psalm 4:7
7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
Ps 5:11
11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
Ps 16:11
11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Ps 19:8
8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
Ps 21:1
1 O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength. How great is his joy in the victories you give!
Ps 21:6
6 Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
Ps 28:7
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Ps 30:11-12
11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
Ps 43:4
4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
Ps 45:15
15 They are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king.
Ps 51:12
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Ps 68:3
3 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.
Ps 71:23-24
23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you– I, whom you have redeemed.
24 My tongue will tell of your
Ps 100:1-2
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Ps 105:43
43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
Ps 119:111
111 Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.
Ps 126:5-6
5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
Ps 132:16
16 I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will ever sing for joy.
Ps 149:5
5 Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.
Isa 35:10-11
10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
11 The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isa 55:12
12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isa 56:7
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."
Isa 61:3
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Jer 15:16
16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.
Jer 31:12
12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD– the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.
Jer 33:6
6 "‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.
Luke 2:10
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 10:21
21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
Luke 24:52
52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
John 15:11
11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 16:22
22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
John 16:24
24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
John 17:13
13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
Acts 2:28
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
Acts 8:8
8 So there was great joy in that city.
Acts 13:52
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 14:17
17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."
Acts 16:34
34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God– he and his whole family.
Rom 12:12
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Rom 14:17
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
Rom 15:13
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Cor 1:24
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
2 Cor 2:3
3 I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.
2 Cor 7:4
4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.
2 Cor 8:2
2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
Gal 4:15
15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
Gal 5:22
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Phil 1:4
4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
Phil 1:25
25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
Phil 1:26
26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
Phil 4:1
1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
Phil 4:4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
1Thes 1:6
6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
1Thes 3:9
9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?
1Thes 5:16
16 Be joyful always;
Heb 1:9
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."
Heb 10:34
34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
Heb 12:2
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
James 1:2-3
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
1 Pet 1:8
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
I Jn 1:4
4 We write this to make our joy complete.
3 Jn 1:4
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Jude 1:24
24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy–
Vines Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words
REJOICE, TO
A. Verb.
samach ^8055^, "to rejoice, be joyful." This verb also occurs in Ugaritic (where its radicals are shh-m-h and perhaps in AramaicSyriac. It appears in all periods of Hebrew and about 155 times in the Bible.
Samach usually refers to a spontaneous emotion or extreme happiness which is expressed in some visible and or external manner. It does not normally represent an abiding state of wellbeing or feeling. This emotion arises at festivals, circumcision feasts, wedding feasts, harvest feasts, the overthrow of one’s enemies, and other such events. The men of Jabesh broke out joyously when they were told that they would be delivered from the Philistines <1 Sam. 11:9>.
The emotion expressed in the verb samach usually finds a visible expression. In the Babylonians are denounced as being glad and "jubilant" over the pillage of Israel. Their emotion is expressed externally by their skipping about like a threshing heifer and neighing like stallions. The emotion represented in the verb (and concretized in the noun simchah) is sometimes accompanied by dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments. This was the sense when David was heralded by the women of Jerusalem as he returned victorious over the Philistines <1 Sam. 18:6>. This emotion is usually described as the product of some external situation, circumstance, or experience, such as found in the first biblical appearance of samach: God told Moses that Aaron was coming to meet him and "when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart" . This passage speaks of inner feeling which is visibly expressed. When Aaron saw Moses, he was overcome with joy and kissed him .
Therefore, the verb samach suggests three elements: (1) a spontaneous, unsustained feeling of jubilance, (2) a feeling so strong that it finds expression in some external act, and (3) a feeling prompted by some external and unsustained stimulus.
This verb is used intransitively signifying that the action is focused on the subject (cf. <1 Sam. 11:9>). God is sometimes the subject, the one who "rejoices and is jubilant": "The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works" . The godly are to "be glad in the Lord, and rejoice… and shout for joy…" . Samach can also mean "to be joyful or glad." In the place the Lord chooses, Israel is "to be joyful" in all in which the Lord blesses them . Used thus the verb describes a state into which one places himself under given circumstances. It has a further and technical sense describing all that one does in making a feast before God: "And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days" .
In a few cases the verb describes an ongoing state. In <1 Kings 4:20> the reign of Solomon is summarized as follows: "Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry."
B. Noun.
simchah ^8057^, "joy." This noun, which also occurs in Ugaritic, is found 94 times in biblical Hebrew. Simchah is both a technical term for the external expression of "joy" — the first biblical occurrence; cf. <1 Sam. 18:6; Jer. 50:11> and (usually) a representation of the abstract feeling or concept "joy" . In another technical use this noun signifies the entire activity of making a feast before God: "And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth [literally, "to make a great rejoicing"]…" .
The noun catches the concrete coloring of the verb, as in : "For ye shall go out with joy…: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
C. Adjective.
sameach ^8056^, "joyful; glad." This adjective occurs 21 times in the Old Testament. The first biblical occurrence is in : "Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee… therefore thou shalt surely rejoice."
(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
