Isaiah chapter 12
English Standard Version
1You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. 2"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." 3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
New International Version
1In that day you will say: "I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation." 3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4In that day you will say: "Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."
New American Standard Bible
1Then you will say on that day, 'I will give thanks to You, Lord; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me. 2Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.' 3Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation. 4And on that day you will say, 'Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.' 5Praise the Lord in song, for He has done glorious things; Let this be known throughout the earth. 6Rejoice and shout for joy, you inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Christian Standard Bible
1On that day you will say: "I will give thanks to you, Lord, although you were angry with me. Your anger has turned away, and you have comforted me. 2Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust him and not be afraid, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation." 3You will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation, 4and on that day you will say: "Give thanks to the Lord; proclaim his name! Make his works known among the peoples. Declare that his name is exalted. 5Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things. Let this be known throughout the earth. 6Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is among you in his greatness."
New Living Translation
1In that day you will sing: 'I will praise you, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me. 2See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.'
3With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! 4In that wonderful day you will sing: 'Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! 5Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. 6Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.'
King James Version
New King James Version
1And in that day you will say: “O Lord, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. 2Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ” 3Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
4And in that day you will say: “Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted. 5 Sing to the Lord, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth. 6 Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
What does Isaiah chapter 12 mean?
Isaiah 12 concludes a section of the book of Isaiah that began in chapter 7. It follows Isaiah's description of the glorious kingdom to come in Israel's distant future. This will be when the "root of Jesse," the Messiah, Jesus Christ, returns to earth and establishes His kingdom (Isaiah 11:10). Among other things, He will gather the scattered people of Israel, reunite them as one nation, and give them final victory over their enemies (Isaiah 11:11–16).In this chapter Isaiah promises that on that day, Israel will direct their attention to the Lord and thank Him for all He has done for them. They will acknowledge that He was rightfully angry with them. But they will also thank Him for restraining His anger and mercifully giving them comfort (Isaiah 12:1).
Modern readers may wonder if the people of Israel found this prediction hard to believe. The were given this prophecy while suffering through the judgment of the Lord for their faithlessness to Him. A peaceful, grateful future would have been hard to imagine as the bodies were piled high, their homes were plundered, and their people were marched off into exile. Exactly how people reacted to the introduction of this prophecy is unknown. It is a sobering thought and adds context to reading Isaiah's chapter.
Isaiah insists that all who read his book understand that the Lord will judge His people for their sin. But salvation will come in the end in and through the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel. In that day, they will declare that God is their salvation. They will fully trust Him so much that there will be no more room for fear. They will tell Him directly that He is their strength and song and salvation. They will not speak these words to any foreign king or any false god. They will recognize that God alone is their salvation (Isaiah 12:2).
They will joyfully participate in the Lords' salvation, fully and eternally provided for by the Lord. In that time, they will call each other and the world to join them in praising their God. The Lord's people will call on one another to praise God. They will encourage each other to share the stories of His works among the peoples of the world. They will make clear as day to all nations to join them in exalting the name of the Messiah (Isaiah 12:3–4).
This time in Israel's future will be a party. They will sing public praises to the Lord and call attention to His glory. They will spread the word of His greatness to every corner of the globe. The inhabitants of Zion, Jerusalem, will shout and sing for joy because the Promised Savior Israel is with them (Isaiah 12:5–6).
