Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was no one who declared; Surely there was no one who caused those words to be heard; Surely there was no one who heard your words.
Isaiah 41:24 Behold, you are nothing, And your work is non‑existent; He who chooses you is an abomination.
Isaiah 41:25 “I have awakened one from the north, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon officials as upon mortar, Even as the potter treads clay.”
Isaiah 41:26 Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was no one who declared; Surely there was no one who caused those words to be heard; Surely there was no one who heard your words.
Isaiah 41:27 “Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’
Isaiah 41:28 But I look, and there is no one, And there is no counselor among them Who, if I ask, can respond with a word.
The verse centers on "declared", "beginning", "might", "former", "times", "right", and "surely". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "declared" and "beginning", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 25's "I have awakened one from the north..." into verse 27's "Formerly I said to Zion Behold here...", so "declared" and "beginning" 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 "declared" and "beginning" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.