Isaiah 41:27 (ASV)

Passage

[I am the] first [that saith] unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.

Isaiah 41:26 Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, [He is] right? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

Isaiah 41:27 [I am the] first [that saith] unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

Isaiah 41:28 And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word.

Isaiah 41:29 Behold, all of them, their works are vanity [and] nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "first", "saith", "zion", "behold", "give", "jerusalem", and "bringeth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "first" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "Who hath declared it from the beginning..." into verse 28's "And when I look there is no...", so "first" and "saith" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "first" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.