Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6

Isaiah 12:1

ESV You 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.
NIV In 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.
NASB Then 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.
CSB On 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.
NLT In that day you will sing: 'I will praise you, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me.
KJV 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.

What does Isaiah 12:1 mean?

This short passage (Isaiah 12:1–6) concludes a longer section that began with chapter 7. The prophet has just chronicled the future kingdom of the Messiah. This Messiah is the descendant of David who will restore Israel to glory and peace. He will also bring order to the entire world. All the non-Jewish nations will gather under His righteous rule (Isaiah 11:10). The Messiah will reassemble the Jewish people to unite them in victory over their enemies (Isaiah 11:14).

Isaiah now says to Israel that when that day comes, they will proclaim their thanks to the Lord. The nation will recognize that His anger has turned away from them. Now the Lord comforts them instead of punishing their sinful faithlessness to Him. This raises the question of what has changed: why did God stop being angry with His people and begin to comfort them? Isaiah will go much deeper into this question later in his book, especially in chapters 40–55.

Two things will become clear. First, the Lord's anger toward His beloved, unfaithful Israel is satisfied.

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (Isaiah 40:1–2)

The Lord's judgment of His people has been enough to hold the nation accountable for breaking their covenant with Him.

Still, more will be required to fully cover the sin of all those who have rebelled against the Lord, both Jews and Gentiles alike. How can any sinful person be saved from God's righteous anger toward sin? Isaiah will go into more depth on this question in the next verse (Isaiah 12:2). The prophet is looking toward the coming Savior is Jesus Christ the Lord (Isaiah 53:4–6). He is the only one who can save both Jew and Gentile from their sins through His sacrifice on the cross (John 3:16–18).
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