Bible Strands
Isaiah 41:27
I was the first to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks to the nations and their idols in Isaiah 41, contrasting His authoritative declaration with their complete silence. He addresses Zion and Jerusalem directly to announce His impending intervention in history.
The words — The text highlights רִאשׁ֥וֹן (ri.Shon), meaning “first [one],” and מְבַשֵּׂ֥ר (me.va.Ser), meaning “a bearer of news.” These terms establish Yahweh as the primary source of revelation who commissions a messenger to deliver His verdict.
The thread — The motif of a herald announcing to Zion and Jerusalem appears in Isaiah 40:9 and Isaiah 52:7, where messengers are commanded to proclaim good tidings. Isaiah 44:28 extends this pattern by naming Cyrus as the agent of Jerusalem’s rebuilding.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that Yahweh alone initiates and fulfills historical events, leaving no room for rival divine claims. It requires the reader to submit to His declared timeline rather than seek confirmation from unseen counselors.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
- Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
- Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
- Isaiah 48:3 I foretold the former things long ago; they came out of My mouth and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
- Nahum 1:15 Look to the mountains—the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be utterly cut off.
- Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:
- Isaiah 41:4 Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last—I am He.”
- Isaiah 43:10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, and after Me none will come.
- Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- Isaiah 48:12 Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last.