Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — YHWH addresses Jacob and Israel directly, asserting his identity as the one who called them, positioned between a refusal to yield his glory (v. 11) and a declaration that his own hand founded the earth (v. 13).
The words — מְקֹרָאִי (me.ko.ra.'I), a participle of qara with a first-person possessive suffix, literally "my called one" or "whom I have called," identifies Israel by his act of summoning rather than by their achievement.
The thread — The "first and last" formula recurs in Isaiah 41:4 and is carried into the New Testament as "Alpha and Omega" in Revelation 1:8 and 22:13.
Why it lands — The verse grounds a command to listen in God's self-identification, not in Israel's worthiness; it asks the reader to attend to who is speaking before considering what is said.
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
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Cross-references
- 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.”
- Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
- Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
- 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.
- Romans 8:28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Revelation 17:14 They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”
- Isaiah 43:11 I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.
- Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
- 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Revelation 2:8 To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life.