Isaiah 12:4-6

To tell other people about one’s own experience of God is a great way to praise him.

Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s names mean ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.'

Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

King Ahaz

Isaiah Chapter s 7 to 12

Gordon Churchyard

The words in brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language.

Chapter 12

Isaiah praises God

v1 You will say in those days, ‘I praise you, *LORD. You were angry with me, but now you are not angry [with me]. Now you are comforting me.

v2 Listen! God has saved me! I will trust [him]. And I will not be afraid because the *LORD, the *LORD has made me strong. He is the one that I am singing about. He has made me safe.

v3 You will get water joyfully from the wells [that provide] rescue and safety.’

v4 And you will say in those days, ‘Praise the *LORD! Shout [aloud] his name! Tell everybody what God has done. Make them remember that he is very great.

v5 Sing psalms (songs to praise God) to the *LORD. What he did is wonderful! Make everyone in the world know it!

v6 Everyone that lives in Zion (Jerusalem), shout! And sing for joy! Because the *Holy [God] of Israel is great and he is [living] with you.’

Notes

Verse 1 Isaiah 12:1-6 contains words that people will say ‘in those days’. ‘Those days’ probably means when Judah’s people come back from exile in Babylon. The ‘exile’ was when Babylon’s army took Judah’s people to Babylon. Although the people’s home was in Judah, the soldiers made them live in Babylon. That happened in 586 B.C. ‘B.C.’ means ‘years Before Christ came to the Earth’. In 536 B.C. they started to return home again. Really, this chapter is a short psalm (a song to praise God). People would be able to sing it after the *exile in Babylon. But it is also about God’s people now. And it is about God’s people on the New Earth! In verse 6 we read, ‘he is [living] with you’. When Jesus is the King on the New Earth, that will be exactly true! That is the message that brings comfort, as in Isaiah 40:1.

Verse 2 Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language. In the *Hebrew Bible, ‘the *LORD, the *LORD’ in this verse is ‘YAH YHWH’. Both words mean ‘*LORD’, the special name that God uses in his covenant (the special agreement between God and his people). People make a ‘covenant’ when they agree seriously to do things for each other. In God’s covenant, he agreed to love his people and he agreed to protect them. Also, the people agreed to love him and they agreed to obey him. The *Hebrew for ‘he has made me safe’ means ‘he is my safety’. The note about verse 3 explains more about ‘safety’. Read the notes about Isaiah 11:6-8, which are also about safety.

Verse 3 ‘You’ means the people that are with the singer of this song. The *Hebrew word for ‘safety’ is the same one that means ‘made me safe’ in verse 2. Here, Isaiah tells this to the people. They will have joy when they are safe. ‘Wells [that provide] rescue and safety’ is a special description. People take water from a well when they want something to drink. It satisfies them. So God will satisfy people when he brings them home from Assyria. Then they will be safe. But for Christians there is another fact that interests them about the word ‘safety’. In *Hebrew, it is the same word as ‘Jesus’! Christians believe that only Jesus can really satisfy them. That will finally happen on the New Earth, when Jesus rules his people as their King.

Verse 4 ‘Everybody’ means the people in Judah. And it also means the people in the countries round Judah. ‘What God has done’ means this. He has taken his people home to Judah, and one day he will take them to the New Earth. Nobody must forget that God is powerful enough to do that.

Verse 5 A psalm is a special song to sing to God.

Verse 6 Zion is another name for Jerusalem. ‘The Holy [God] of Israel’ is a special name for God that Isaiah uses frequently.

Something to do

Learn to say verse 2 by heart, that is, from your memory. Then you will not have to look at the words while you say it.

heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.'Lord/lord ~ lord means master; Lord is a name for God. It is not the same as LORD.

Lord/lord ~ lord means master; Lord is a name for God. It is not the same as LORD.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy.
exile ~ away from your own country or people.