Isaiah 12: With Joy Shall You Draw Water
A song of thanksgiving that closes the first collection
"And 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" (12:1). The anger of the refrain ("his hand is stretched out still") is answered at last: "thine anger is turned away."
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH (Yah YHWH) is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation" (vv. 2–3). The words of v. 2 echo Moses' song at the sea (Exodus 15:2).
"And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people… Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee" (vv. 4–6).
| Verses | What it says | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| 12:1–2 | Praise: your anger turned away, you comforted me; God my salvation, my strength and song | Singular "thou": one voice for the people. Verse 2b quotes Exodus 15:2. |
| 12:3 | With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation | Plural "ye": the community. Later sung at the water-drawing of Sukkot. |
| 12:4–5 | Give thanks, call on his name, make his deeds known among the nations | Mission to the nations (compare Psalm 105:1). |
| 12:6 | Shout, Zion: great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel | The title of 1:4 closes the section. |
Water-drawing at Sukkot
In the Second Temple period, a water libation was poured at the altar each morning of the Feast of Tabernacles, with a joyful nighttime celebration (Simchat Beit ha-Sho'evah, "the rejoicing of the place of water-drawing"). The Mishnah (Sukkah 5:1) says "whoever has not seen the rejoicing of the water-drawing has never seen rejoicing in his life," and Isaiah 12:3 was associated with it. John 7:37–38 places Jesus' words "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" on the last day of this feast. The verse is also sung in the Jewish Havdalah blessing at the end of the Sabbath.
12:2 and Exodus 15:2
"Ozzi ve-zimrat Yah… vayehi li li-shu'ah" ("my strength and song is Yah… and he has become my salvation") is Exodus 15:2 and Psalm 118:14 word for word, with the addition of YHWH after Yah in the Masoretic Text of Isaiah ("Yah YHWH"). The Great Isaiah Scroll writes Yah above the line before YHWH and repeats El ("God, God of my salvation"), probably scribal duplications. The Vulgate's 12:3 "from the springs of the Savior" (salvatoris) turns "salvation" into a person, a Christian reading built into the Latin. The Hebrew yeshu'ah ("salvation") is related to the name Yeshua (Jesus), which Christian readers have noted; it is a shared root, not a reference.
What the evidence shows
- Isaiah 12:2 quotes Exodus 15:2.
- Isaiah 12:3 was associated with the Sukkot water-drawing ceremony. Mishnah Sukkah; C check on the rabbinic citation.
- The Vulgate of 12:3 reads "springs of the Savior."Source: The site's library: Westminster Leningrad Codex, KJV, Clementine Vulgate, Giguet's French of the Greek
Continue the journey
Connected elsewhere in ScriptureThe Song of the SeaExodus 15:1–2: The Song of the Sea.More from this lesson
Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- The Song of the Sea.
- Psalm 105:1; 118:14"Make known his deeds among the people"; "my strength and song."
- Jesus at the feast: "If any man thirst."
- "The Holy One of Israel": the frame of chapters 1–12.