Isaiah 41:26 (GNV)

Passage

Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may knowe? or before time, that we may say, He is righteous? Surely there is none that sheweth: surely there is none that declareth: surely there is none that heareth your wordes.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:24 Beholde, ye are of no value, and your making is of naught: man hath chosen an abomination by them.

Isaiah 41:25 I haue raised vp from the North, and he shall come: from the East sunne shall he cal vpon my Name, and shall come vpon princes as vpon clay, and as the potter treadeth myre vnder the foote.

Isaiah 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may knowe? or before time, that we may say, He is righteous? Surely there is none that sheweth: surely there is none that declareth: surely there is none that heareth your wordes.

Isaiah 41:27 I am the first, that saieth to Zion, Beholde, beholde them: and I will giue to Ierusalem one that shall bring good tidings.

Isaiah 41:28 But when I behelde, there was none, and when I inquired of them, there was no counsellor, and when I demaunded of them, they answered not a woorde.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hath", "declared", "beginning", "knowe", "before", "time", "righteous", and "surely". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hath" and "declared", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "I haue raised vp from the North..." into verse 27's "I am the first that saieth to...", so "hath" and "declared" 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 "hath" and "declared" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.