Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, the young men and old men together: and I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them joyful after their sorrow.

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and old together; for I will turn their mourning into gladness, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice after their sorrow.

Then rejoice doth a virgin in a chorus, Both young men and old men, together, And I have turned their mourning to joy, And have comforted them, And gladdened them above their sorrow,

Then the virgin will have joy in the dance, and the young men and the old will be glad: for I will have their weeping turned into joy, I will give them comfort and make them glad after their sorrow.

Then the virgin will rejoice with singing, the young and the old together, and I will turn their mourning into gladness, and I will console them and gladden them after their sorrow.

Tunc laetabitur virgo (aut puella) in choro et adolescentes (vel, electi; sed significat proprie adolescentes) et senes pariter; et convertam luctum eorum in gaudium, et consolabor eos et exhilarabo a suo dolore.

This is a confirmation of the former verse; for he says that joy would be in common to young women and young men, and also to the old. He had spoken of the perpetuity of joy; but he now extends this joy to both sexes, women and men, and to all ages. Of the dance we have spoken elsewhere, -- that wantonness in which the world indulges in its hilarity, was not permitted; as to profane men, there is no moderation in their joy. The Prophets followed the common mode of speaking; and, indeed, the Israelites had their dances while celebrating the praises of God; but it was a chaste and modest joy, yea, and a sacred joy, for it was a mode of worshipping God. Yet the Prophet speaks according to the common practices of the people, as in many other places, when he says that young women and young men would rejoice in the dance He then adds, I will turn their mourning to joy, I will console them and exhilarate them from their grief [1] Here the Prophet averts the thoughts of the Israelites from the evils they then had, lest their grief should so darken their minds as to prevent them to taste of God's goodness promised them. That the feeling, then, of present evils might not hinder them to come to God and receive his favor, he speaks of their grief and mourning, and intimates that the change would be easily made by God's hand, when it pleased him to deliver his people and restore them to their former state, so that their complete happiness would take place under the reign of Christ.

Footnotes

1 - This clause may be rendered thus, -- For I will turn their mourning into rejoicing, And I will comfort them and cheer them above their sorrow. That is, "I will give them comfort and joy more than the sorrow which they have had." The preposition m, has often the meaning of above or more than. See Deuteronomy 14:2. Their sorrow had been great, but the promise here is, to give them in proportion a comfort and a joy still greater. -- Ed.

Both gives the idea of the men dancing, which is incorrect. Except at a religious solemnity 2-Samuel 6:14, dancing was confined to women. Render and young men and old rejoice together.

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the (r) dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
(r) In the company of the faithful, who ever praise God for his benefits.

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together,.... Not any particular virgin, but all virgins, as Kimchi interprets it. The Targum is,
"then shall the congregation of Israel rejoice as in dances;''
it may very well be understood of the church of Christ, espoused to him as a chaste virgin, and of her spiritual joy in him, in allusion to the joy expressed by such persons in dancing, both upon civil and religious accounts; and it denotes that the joy should be very general and extensive, that persons of every age and sex should partake of it; see Zac 9:17;
for I will turn their mourning into joy: their mourning for sin, and for want of the divine presence, into joy, on account of the goodness of the Lord to them, and the large provisions made for them; though they come weeping to Zion, yet, when come thither, sing in the height of it, Jeremiah 31:9; their fasts, as elsewhere, are turned into festivals; sometimes the joy of the saints is suddenly turned into grief, and again their sorrow turned into joy; see Psalm 30:5;
and will comfort them; with the discoveries of love, with the divine Presence, and views of pardoning grace:
and make them rejoice from their sorrow; cause their sorrow to break off through joy: or, "after their sorrow" (p); that being ended, joy shall succeed.
(p) "post moerorem suum", Cataker.

young . . . old-- (Zac 8:4-5).

Then shall young men and old live in unclouded joy, and forget all their former sorrow. "In the dance" refers merely to the virgins: to "young men and old together," only the notion of joy is to be repeated from the context.