# joy, joyful, joyfully, joyfulness, enjoy, enjoys, enjoyed, enjoying, enjoyment, rejoice, gladness, rejoices, rejoiced, rejoicing, glad, greeting, greetings, be merry, rejoiced greatly, greet

## Definition:

Joy is a feeling of delight or deep satisfaction that comes from God. The related term "joyful" describes a person who feels very glad and is full of deep happiness.

* A person feels joy when he has a deep sense that what he is experiencing is very good.
* God is the one who gives true joy to people.
* Having joy does not depend on pleasant circumstances. God can give people joy even when very difficult things are happening in their lives.
* Sometimes places are described as joyful, such as houses or cities. This means that the people who live there are joyful.

The term "rejoice" means to be full of joy and gladness.

* This term often refers to being very happy about the good things that God has done.
* It could be translated as "be very happy" or "be very glad" or "be full of joy."
* When Mary said "my soul rejoices in God my Savior," she meant "God my Savior has made me very happy" or "I feel so joyful because of what God my Savior has done for me."

## Translation Suggestions:

* The term "joy" could also be translated as "gladness" or "delight" or "great happiness."
* The phrase, "be joyful" could be translated as "rejoice" or "be very glad" or it could be translated "be very happy in God's goodness."
* A person who is joyful could be described as "very happy" or "delighted" or "deeply glad."
* A phrase such as "make a joyful shout" could be translated as "shout in a way that shows you are very happy."
* A "joyful city" or "joyful house" could be translated as "city where joyful people live" or "house full of joyful people" or "city whose people are very happy." (See: [metonymy](rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy))

## Bible References:

* [Nehemiah 08:10](rc://en/tn/help/neh/08/10)
* [Psalm 048:02](rc://en/tn/help/psa/048/02)
* [Isaiah 56:6-7](rc://en/tn/help/isa/56/06)
* [Jeremiah 15:15-16](rc://en/tn/help/jer/15/15)
* [Matthew 02:9-10](rc://en/tn/help/mat/02/09)
* [Luke 15:07](rc://en/tn/help/luk/15/07)
* [Luke 19:37-38](rc://en/tn/help/luk/19/37)
* [John 03:29](rc://en/tn/help/jhn/03/29)
* [Acts 16:32-34](rc://en/tn/help/act/16/32)
* [Romans 05:1-2](rc://en/tn/help/rom/05/01)
* [Romans 15:30-32](rc://en/tn/help/rom/15/30)
* [Galatians 05:23](rc://en/tn/help/gal/05/23)
* [Philippians 04:10-13](rc://en/tn/help/php/04/10)
* [1 Thessalonians 01:6-7](rc://en/tn/help/1th/01/06)
* [1 Thessalonians 05:16](rc://en/tn/help/1th/05/16)
* [Philemon 01:4-7](rc://en/tn/help/phm/01/04)
* [James 01:02](rc://en/tn/help/jas/01/02)
* [3 John 01:1-4](rc://en/tn/help/3jn/01/01)

## Examples from the Bible stories:

* __[33:07](rc://en/tn/help/obs/33/07)__ "The rocky ground is a person who hears God's word and accepts it with __joy__."
* __[34:04](rc://en/tn/help/obs/34/04)__ "The kingdom of God is also like hidden treasure that someone hid in a field.. Another man found the treasure and then buried it again. He was so filled with __joy__, that he went and sold everything he had and used the money to buy that field."
* __[41:07](rc://en/tn/help/obs/41/07)__ The women were full of fear and great __joy__. They ran to tell the disciples the good news.

## Word Data:

* Strong's: H1523, H1524, H1525, H2302, H2304, H2305, H2654, H2898, H4885, H5727, H5937, H5947, H5965, H5970, H6342, H6670, H7440, H7442, H7444, H7445, H7797, H7832, H8055, H8056, H8057, H8342, H8643, G20, G21, G2165, G2167, G2744, G4640, G4796, G4913, G5463, G5479