Biblical Verses Related to Rejoice

Rejoicing accompanies worship

On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.

—Leviticus 23:40 (similarly Deuteronomy 12:11-12, 16:10-14)

Then the people rejoiced because these had given willingly, for with single mind they had offered freely to the Lord; King David also rejoiced greatly.

—I Chronicles 29:9

All Judah rejoiced over the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

—2 Chronicles 15:15

All the leaders and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until it was full.

—2 Chronicles 24:10

They offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. … for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.

—Nehemiah 12:43, 44d

Rejoicing and enemies

Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory.”

—I Samuel 2:1

Then all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.

—2 Chronicles 20:27

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.

—Psalm 30:1 and often

The Lord has done what he purposed, he has carried out his threat; as he ordained long ago, he has demolished without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you, and exalted the might of your foes.

—Lamentations 2:17

Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.

—Micah 7:8

Otherwise my mistakes may be multiplied, and my sins may abound, and I may fall before my adversaries, and my enemy may rejoice over me.

—Sirach 23:3

Rejoicing in God’s presence and gifts

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you.

—Psalm 5:11

…so that I may recount all your praises, and, in the gates of daughter Zion, rejoice in your deliverance.

—Psalm 9:14

But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

—Psalm 13:5

yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.

—Habakkuk 3:18

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
    my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
    or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
    in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

—Psalm 16:9-11

I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love, …

—Psalm 31:7a

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

—Isaiah 61:10

Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.

—Psalm 51:8-9

As for me, I exalt my God, and my soul rejoices in the King of heaven.

—Tobit 13:7

May your soul rejoice in God’s mercy, and may you never be ashamed to praise him.

—Sirach 51:29

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
    for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”

—Luke 1:46-48

[John the Baptist said] “He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

—John 3:29-30

Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my [Jesus’] day; he saw it and was glad.

—John 8:56

Command to rejoice

Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. …
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
    and let them say among the nations, “The Lord is king!”

—I Chronicles 16:10, 31 (similarly Psalm 70:4)

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

—Psalm 32:11 and often

But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

—Psalm 40:16

Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments.

—Psalm 48:11

Do not fear, O soil; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!

—Joel 2:21

But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.

—Isaiah 65:18 (similarly Isaiah 66:10,14)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

—Zechariah 9:9 (similarly Zechariah 2:10, Zephaniah 3:14)

Do not rejoice over anyone’s death; remember that we must all die.

—Sirach 8:7

Do not be anxious, for when the day of tribulation and anguish comes, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but you shall rejoice and have abundance.

—2 Esdras 2:27

For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain shall rejoice four hundred years.

—2 Esdras 7:28

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

—Romans 12:12

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

—Romans 12:15

Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

—Philippians 3:1; also 4:4 and I Thessalonians 5:16

Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!

—Revelation 12:12

Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets! For God has given judgment for you against her.

—Revelation 18:20

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready;

—Revelation 19:7

God’s rejoicing

For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

—Isaiah 62:5

I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.

—Isaiah 65:18

I will rejoice in doing good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

—Jeremiah 32:41

The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

—Zephaniah 3:17

He [the Lord] answered me and said, “Consider within yourself what you have thought, for the person who has what is hard to get rejoices more than the person who has what is plentiful. So also will be the judgment that I have promised; for I will rejoice over the few who shall be saved, because it is they who have made my glory to prevail now, and through them my name has now been honored.

—2 Esdras 7:59-60

At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”

—Luke 10:21

And if he finds it [lost sheep], truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

—Matthew 18:13 (compare Luke 15:5-6,9,32)

Rejoicing and suffering

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

—Luke 6:22-23

As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.

—Acts 5:41

But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

—I Peter 4:13

Christian rejoicing

Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

—Luke 10:20

The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.

—John 4:36

So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

—John 16:22

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord

—John 20:20

The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. …When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced,

—Acts 11:21,23

and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

—Acts 16:34b

If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

—I Corinthians 12:26

[love] does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.

—I Corinthians 13:6

Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

—I Peter 1:8

Quotes on Rejoice

… if God took the trouble to tell us eight hundred times to be glad and rejoice, He must want us to do it—SOME.

—Eleanor Porter

Rejoicing is grounded in gratitude, with a keen appreciation for yourself, others, your abundance, and the beauty around you.

—Susan C. Young

There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.

—John Calvin

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.

—Eleonora Duse

All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.

—Marie Curie

When Spring unlocks the flowers
To paint the laughing soil;
When summer’s balmy breezes
Refresh the mower’s toil;
When winter holds in frosty chains
The fallow and the flood;
In God the earth rejoices still,
And owns her Maker good.

—Reginald Heber

Begin thus from the first act, and proceed; and, in conclusion, at the ill which thou hast done, be troubled, and rejoice for the good.

—Pythagoras

Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved.

—Mark Twain

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.

—George Bernard Shaw

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

—Lao Tzu

Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.

—Horace

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

—Epictetus

Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.

—Michel de Montaigne

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.

—Abraham Lincoln

Rejoice in small things and they will continue to grow.

—Slaven Vujic

Embrace love; it’s the best gift you’ll ever find in life. Lift your joy off the ground by loving what you do and doing what you love.

—Israelmore Ayivor

Great men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.

—Seneca the Younger

Really rejoice in being yourself. Have your own drumbeat.

—Kim Cattrall

The educator should do anything but advise the child to do what everybody does. He should rather rejoice when he sees in the child tendencies to deviation.

—Ellen Key

If you have overcome your inclination and not been overcome by it, you have reason to rejoice.

—Plautus

Let others laugh when you sacrifice desire to duty, if they will. You have time and eternity to rejoice in.

—Theodore Parker

Evil. Mistrust those who rejoice at it even more than those who do it.

—Victor Hugo

I rejoice in other’s successes, knowing there is plenty for us all.

—Louise Hay

Haters can never rejoice especially when their enemy wins. The moment you can’t be happy when someone wins, watch yourself. That habit is not good for you.

—Israelmore Ayivor

Let my name stand among those who are willing to bear ridicule and reproach for the truth’s sake, and so earn some right to rejoice when the victory is won.

—Louisa May Alcott

Keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.

—Molly Ivins

Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ.

—Martin Luther

Let not a libation of tears be the only offering at the shrine of Jesus; let us also rejoice with joy unspeakable. If we have need to lament our sin, how much more to rejoice at our pardon!

—Charles Spurgeon

Think it not hard if you get not your will, nor your delights in this life; God will have you to rejoice in nothing but himself.

—Samuel Rutherford

Satan wants us to constantly focus on everything that is wrong with us and look at how far we still have to go. But God desires for us to rejoice in how far we have already come.

—Joyce Meyer

If you find yourself about to complain, think of your many blessings and rejoice! Don’t give the devil a ride today, because then he’ll want to drive full-time.

—Anita R. Sneed-Carter

I will not glory, even in my orthodoxy, for even that can be a snare if I make a god of it… Let us rejoice in Him in all His fulness and in Him alone.

—D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

It is supposed by some that religion makes people solemn, takes the sunshine out of their life, the joy out of their heart, the song out of their mouth. But the reverse of this is the truth. No other one in the world has such secrets of joy as has the Christian. Christ teaches his followers to rejoice. He bids them rejoice even in sorrow and trial.

—J.R. Miller

I shouldn’t complain about God’s mercy to others while thanking Him for His mercy to me. I shouldn’t commit the sin of pride by justifying my rebellion or my running from God compared to other people’s sin. Who am I to be angry at what the angels in Heaven rejoice in?

—Teresa Schultz

God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future–to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.

—Jeffrey R. Holland

A rejoicing heart soon makes a praising tongue.

—Charles Spurgeon

When you cannot rejoice in feelings, circumstances or conditions, rejoice in the Lord.

—A.B. Simpson