chara · joy

What it means

chara (χαρά) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “joy”.

Gladness.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. Joy, or what causes it.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Joy, gladness. It is the noun of χαίρω (‘rejoice’, G5463), and of the same family as χάρις (‘grace’).

• Good news “of great joy” Luke 2:10Matthew 2:10Matthew 28:8
• Joy in heaven over the one who changes his mind Luke 15:7Luke 15:10
• “So that my joy may be in you” John 15:11John 16:21
• Joy as fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22Romans 14:17
• Joy in the midst of trials James 1:2Hebrews 12:2

How we translate it

“Joy” 58 times, in the Gospels and in the letters alike; once the phrase χαρᾷ χαίρει is rendered “rejoices greatly” (John 3:29).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• joy ×58
• rejoices greatly ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×6
• Mark×1
• Luke×8
• John×9
• Acts×4
• Romans×3
• 2 Corinthians×5
• Galatians×1
• Philippians×5
• Colossians×1
• 1 Thessalonians×4
• 2 Timothy×1
• Philemon×1
• Hebrews×4
• James×2
• 1 Peter×1
• 1 John×1
• 2 John×1
• 3 John×1

• Matthew 2:10

  And seeing the star, they rejoiced with a very great joy.

• Matthew 13:20

  And the one sown on the rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy;

• Matthew 13:44

  The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

• Matthew 25:21

  His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

• Matthew 25:23

  His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

• Matthew 28:8

  And going away quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples.

• Mark 4:16

  And likewise these are the ones sown on the rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, at once receive it with joy;

• Luke 1:14

  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth;

• Luke 2:10

  And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for look, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people;

• Luke 8:13

  And those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root; they believe for a while, and in a time of testing fall away.

• Luke 10:17

  And the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”

• Luke 15:7

  I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes his mind than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of a change of mind.

• Luke 15:10

  In the same way, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who changes his mind.”

• Luke 24:41

  And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Do you have anything to eat here?”

• Luke 24:52

  And they, having bowed down before him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

• John 3:29

  The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete.

• John 15:11

  I have spoken these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.

• John 16:20

  Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

• John 16:21

  A woman, when she is giving birth, has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she has borne the child, she no longer remembers the affliction because of the joy that a human being has been born into the world.

• John 16:22

  So you also have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy from you.

• John 16:24

  Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

• John 17:13

  But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.

• Acts 8:8

  And there was much joy in that city.

• Acts 12:14

  And recognizing Peter’s voice, for joy she did not open the gateway, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing before the gateway.

• Acts 13:52

  And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

• Acts 15:3

  So they, being sent on their way by the assembly, were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail of the turning of the nations, and they were bringing great joy to all the brothers.

• Romans 14:17

  For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

• Romans 15:13

  Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

• Romans 15:32

  so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.

• 2 Corinthians 1:24

  Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are co-workers for your joy; for you stand by faith.

• 2 Corinthians 2:3

  And I wrote this very thing so that when I came I would not have sorrow from those in whom I ought to rejoice, being confident about all of you that my joy is the joy of all of you.

• 2 Corinthians 7:4

  Great is my boldness toward you, great is my boasting about you; I am filled with comfort, I am overflowing beyond measure with joy in all our affliction.

• 2 Corinthians 7:13

  For this reason we have been comforted. And besides our comfort we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.

• 2 Corinthians 8:2

  that in a great test of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty have overflowed into the wealth of their generosity.

• Galatians 5:22

  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

• Philippians 1:4

  always in every prayer of mine for all of you making my prayer with joy,

• Philippians 1:25

  And being confident of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

• Philippians 2:2

  complete my joy so that you think the same thing, having the same love, united in soul, thinking the one thing.

• Philippians 2:29

  So welcome him in the Lord with all joy, and hold such people in honor,

• Philippians 4:1

  So, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, stand firm in this way in the Lord, beloved.

And 19 more times.