Isaiah 41:27 (DRB)

Passage

The first shall say to Sion: Behold they are here, and to Jerusalem I will give an evangelist.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun: he shall call upon my name, and he shall make princes to be as dirt, and as the potter treading clay.

Isaiah 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know: and from time of old, that we may say: Thou art just. There is none that sheweth, nor that foretelleth, nor that heareth your words.

Isaiah 41:27 The first shall say to Sion: Behold they are here, and to Jerusalem I will give an evangelist.

Isaiah 41:28 And I saw, and there was no one even among them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.

Isaiah 41:29 Behold they are all in the wrong, and their works are vain: their idols are wind and vanity.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "Who hath declared from the beginning that..." into verse 28's "And I saw and there was no...", so "first" and "shall" 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 "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.