Isaiah 41:27 (KJV)

Passage

The first shall say to 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 shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

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

Isaiah 41:27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

Isaiah 41:28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

Isaiah 41:29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "first", "shall", "zion", "behold", "give", "jerusalem", and "bringeth". 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 "For I beheld 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.