Isaiah 12

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1And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.2Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.3Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.4And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.5Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.6Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

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Notes for this chapter

Historical Background

Isaiah Chapter 12 Study Notes

Isaiah 12 stands as one of the most radiant passages in all of prophetic literature. After eleven chapters of warning, judgment, and the long shadow of Assyrian conquest, this brief chapter arrives like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. It functions as a closing doxology to the first major section of Isaiah's prophecy, chapters 1 through 12, and its tone is not tentative but triumphant. The phrase “in that day” connects it directly to the messianic and eschatological promises of the preceding chapters, particularly the vision of the Branch from Jesse's root in chapter 11.

This is the song that the redeemed sing after deliverance has come, and its structure closely mirrors the great songs of Moses and Miriam after the crossing of the Red Sea, suggesting that Isaiah consciously frames the coming salvation as a new and greater Exodus.

Core Teaching

The opening verse carries enormous theological weight. The worshipper acknowledges that God had been angry, and this is not brushed aside or minimized. The anger of God toward His covenant people was real, earned through generations of idolatry and injustice as catalogued throughout the preceding chapters. What is breathtaking is the declaration that this anger has been turned away and that comfort has replaced it.

The Hebrew word translated “comforted” here, nacham, is the same root used of a mother's deep compassion for her child. Matthew Henry noted that the soul who has passed through conviction and felt the weight of divine displeasure is precisely the soul best prepared to appreciate the sweetness of forgiveness. The movement from “thou wast angry with me” to “thou comfortedst me” maps the entire spiritual journey of repentance and restoration in a single verse.

Verse 2 is among the most celebrated declarations of personal faith in the entire Old Testament. “The Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” This verse is nearly identical to , and the echo is almost certainly intentional. Isaiah's audience would have recognized it immediately, and its repetition signals that what God did at the Red Sea is about to be surpassed.

The double divine name, Yah Yahweh in the Hebrew, is unique and intensely solemn, as though ordinary language cannot hold the fullness of what is being expressed. Adam Clarke observed that this verse is a personal creed compressed into a sentence, and Barnes noted that the word “salvation” in this verse carries the Hebrew root Yeshua, the very name borne by Jesus. The connection is not accidental to Christian readers. The salvation Isaiah celebrates in song is ultimately embodied in the person of Christ, and the early church would have read these words with full awareness of that fulfillment.

Commentary Insights

Verse 3 has captured the imagination of readers across centuries. “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” The image speaks to the agrarian world of the ancient Near East, where water drawn from a well was life itself, gathered in the cool of morning with effort and gratitude. But here the well is inexhaustible and freely given, and the drawing is done with joy rather than labor.

Ellen White connects this imagery directly to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, writing in The Desire of Ages that the rivers of living water flowing from the believer are the fruit of a Spirit-filled life. Jesus himself stood in the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles, during its water-drawing ceremony, and cried out that anyone who was thirsty should come to Him and drink. That moment in John 7 is a direct fulfilment of what Isaiah envisions here, and it makes clear that the wells of salvation are not mere metaphor but a living reality found in Christ.

Reflection & Application

The final three verses broaden the song from personal confession to public proclamation. The redeemed are commanded to praise, to call upon His name, to declare His works among the peoples, and to make His name known throughout all the earth. There is an outward, missionary impulse built into genuine worship. Salvation that is truly received cannot be quietly contained.

The phrase “this is known in all the earth” in verse 5 anticipates the universal scope of the gospel, reaching beyond Israel to every nation. The chapter closes with a shout directed at the inhabitants of Zion, grounded in a single magnificent reason: “great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” The title “Holy One of Israel” appears more than two dozen times in Isaiah and very rarely anywhere else in Scripture, and here it reaches its fullest and most joyful expression. The Great Controversy theme finds its resolution in exactly this image, a God who is both perfectly holy and intimately present, dwelling among a redeemed people who no longer need to fear His holiness but can exult in it. This is the song of eternity rehearsed in time.

Go deeper — references Classic commentaries on this chapter

Matthew Henry's Commentary Matthew Henry (1662–1714) Adam Clarke's Commentary Adam Clarke (1760–1832) Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871) Barnes' Notes on the Bible Albert Barnes (1798–1870) EGW Writings Ellen G. White Blue Letter Bible Study tools and lexicon

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