World English Bible
- In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, the LORD; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me.
- Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD, the LORD, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation.”
- Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
- In that day you will say, “Give thanks to the LORD! Call on his name! Declare his doings among the peoples! Proclaim that his name is exalted!
- Sing to the LORD, for he has done excellent things! Let this be known in all the earth!
- Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
Isaiah 12 is a small hymn placed at a great turning point. Chapters 1–11 have carried us through rebellion, collapsing kingdoms, divine judgment, and the promise of a Spirit-filled shoot from Jesse’s felled tree. Now prophecy becomes praise. The proper end of theology is not merely understanding, but singing.
Isaiah’s words deliberately echo Israel’s song after crossing the Red Sea: God is “my strength and song,” and “has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2, World English Bible; compare Exodus 15:2). Isaiah is announcing a new exodus. God will again lead his people out—not only from foreign oppression, but from guilt, fear, and estrangement from himself.
The Hebrew is striking: Yah Yahweh—“the LORD, the LORD”—is my strength and song. Isaiah joins the short, intimate form of God’s name, Yah, to the covenant name, Yahweh. The God who rules history is not merely the author of salvation; he “has become” salvation. We are not finally rescued by an idea, a method, or a stronger version of ourselves. We are rescued by God giving himself to us.
His anger has “turned away,” and comfort has arrived. This does not mean God has become less holy or has simply forgotten evil. In the gospel, judgment is neither denied nor allowed to have the last word. At the cross, God himself bears what his righteousness requires. Christ does not persuade an unwilling Father to love us; the Father’s love provides Christ. The Judge becomes our refuge without ceasing to be just.
In Judah’s dry land, a well was not decorative. It meant survival, community, and a future. Archaeology still bears witness to Jerusalem’s fierce concern for water: tunnels, shafts, and pools were cut into rock because a city without water could not endure a siege. Yet Isaiah speaks of “wells”—plural—of salvation. God’s grace is not a cup rationed to the barely deserving. It is a deep, many-sided abundance from which his people draw with joy.
Centuries later, during the Feast of Tabernacles, water was carried in joyful procession in Jerusalem. Against that background, Jesus cried out that the thirsty should come to him and drink (John 7:37–39). He presents himself as Isaiah’s well: crucified, risen, and pouring out the Holy Spirit.
There is also a quiet grammatical movement. In verse 1, “you will say” is singular in Hebrew; in verse 4, it becomes plural. One forgiven person begins to give thanks, but salvation refuses to remain private. The solitary testimony widens into a people declaring God’s deeds among the nations. Grace enters the heart as comfort and leaves the mouth as mission.
Perhaps our fear persists because we keep trying to drink from ourselves. Faith lowers the empty vessel into depths it did not dig.
Suggested hymn: “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”
Holy One among us, turn our fear into trust and our private gratitude into public praise. Teach us to draw deeply from Christ, the well of salvation, until your comfort becomes our song and your grace overflows to others. Amen.