Isaiah 41:27

Christian Standard Bible ®

I was the first to say to Zion,‘Look! Here they are!’And I gave Jerusalem a herald with good news.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
[I am the] first [who says] to Tziyon, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Yerushalayim one who brings good news.

King James Version
The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

English Standard Version
I was the first to say to Zion, "Behold, here they are!" and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

New American Standard Bible
"Previously I said to Zion, 'Behold, here they are.' And to Jerusalem, 'I will give a messenger of good news.'

New Century Version
I, the Lord , was the first one to tell Jerusalem that the people were coming home. I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.

Amplified Bible
"I was first to say to Zion, 'Listen carefully, here they are [the Jews who will be restored to their own land].' And to Jerusalem, 'I will provide a messenger (Isaiah) to bring the good news [that Cyrus will be stirred up and put into action to save them].'

World English Bible
[I am the] first [who says] to Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good news.

Geneva Bible (1587)
I am the first, that saieth to Zion, Beholde, beholde them: and I will giue to Ierusalem one that shall bring good tidings.

Legacy Standard Bible
"Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.'And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.'

Berean Standard Bible
I was the first to tell Zion: 'Look, here they are!' And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

Contemporary English Version
I was the first to tell the people of Jerusalem, "Look, it's happening!" I was the one who announced this good news to Zion.

Complete Jewish Bible
I am the first to declare it to Tziyon, to send Yerushalayim a messenger with good news.

Darby Translation
The first, [I said] to Zion, Behold, behold them! and to Jerusalem, I will give one that bringeth glad tidings.

Easy-to-Read Version
I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Zion about these things. I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say, ‘Look, your people are coming back!'"

George Lamsa Translation
These things are the chief concern of Zion; behold, I will give to Jerusalem one that brings good tidings.

Good News Translation
I, the Lord , was the first to tell Zion the news; I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say, ‘Your people are coming! They are coming home!'

Lexham English Bible
First to Zion, look! Look at them! And I give a herald of good tidings to Jerusalem.

Literal Translation
At first to Zion, I say , Behold! Behold them! And I will give to Jerusalem one proclaiming good news.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Beholde, I will first graute the of Sion & Ierusalem to be Euangelistes.

American Standard Version
I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

Bible in Basic English
I was the first to give word of it to Zion, and I gave the good news to Jerusalem.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
A harbinger unto Zion will I give: 'Behold, behold them', and to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings.

King James Version (1611)
The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them, and I will giue to Ierusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The first is he that shall say to Sion, beholde, beholde, they are present: and to Hierusalem it selfe wyll I geue an euangelist.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
I will give dominion to Sion, and will comfort Jerusalem by the way.

English Revised Version
I first will say unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The firste schal seie to Sion, Lo! Y am present; and Y schal yyue a gospellere to Jerusalem.

Update Bible Version
[I am the] first [that says] to Zion, Look, look at them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that brings good tidings.

Webster's Bible Translation
The first [shall say] to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

New English Translation
I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem.

New King James Version
The first time I said to Zion, "Look, there they are!' And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.

New Living Translation
I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look! Help is on the way!' I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.

New Life Bible
"Before I had said to Zion, ‘See, here they are,' and to Jerusalem, ‘I will send someone to bring good news.'

New Revised Standard
I first have declared it to Zion, and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
He who is First, can say , To Zion, Lo! there they are! And to Jerusalem, A herald of good-tidings, do I give.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The first shall say to Sion: Behold they are here, and to Jerusalem I will give an evangelist.

Revised Standard Version
I first have declared it to Zion, and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.

Young's Literal Translation
First to Zion, Behold, behold them, And to Jerusalem one proclaiming tidings I give,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Formerly I said to Zion, 'Behold, here they are.' And to Jerusalem, 'I will give a messenger of good news.'

Contextual Overview

²¹“Submit your case,” says the Lord.“Present your arguments,” says Jacob’s King. ²²“Let them come and tell uswhat will happen.Tell us the past events,so that we may reflect on themand know the outcome,or tell us the future. ²³Tell us the coming events,then we will know that you are gods.Indeed, do something good or bad,then we will be in awe when we see it. ²⁴Look, you are nothingand your work is worthless.Anyone who chooses you is detestable. ²⁵“I have stirred up one from the north, and he has come,one from the east who invokes my name.He will march over rulers as if they were mud,like a potter who treads the clay. ²⁶Who told about this from the beginning,so that we might know,and from times past,so that we might say, ‘He is right’?No one announced it,no one told it,no one heard your words. ²⁷I was the first to say to Zion,‘Look! Here they are!’And I gave Jerusalem a herald with good news.²⁸When I look, there is no one;there is no counselor among them;when I ask them, they have nothing to say. ²⁹Look, all of them are a delusion;their works are nonexistent;their images are wind and emptiness.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

first: Isaiah 41:4, Isaiah 43:10, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 48:12, Revelation 2:8

I will give: Isaiah 40:9, Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 52:7, Ezra 1:1, Ezra 1:2, Nahum 1:15, Luke 2:10, Luke 2:11, Romans 10:15

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 7:9 - this day Job 11:10 - If he cut off Isaiah 40:1 - comfort Isaiah 65:1 - Behold Acts 13:32 - we

Cross-References

2 Samuel 24:19
David went up in obedience to Gad’s command, just as the Lord had commanded.

2 Kings 8:1
Elisha said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Get ready, you and your household, and go live as a resident alien wherever you can. For the Lord has announced a seven-year famine, and it has already come to the land.”

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The first shall say to Zion, behold, behold them,.... Or, "I the first say to Zion"; I who am the first and the last, Isaiah 41:4 which some ancient Jewish writers d observe is the name of the Messiah, and apply the passage to him; or, I am the "first" that say these things to Zion e,

behold, behold them; behold such and such things shall come to pass, and accordingly they have come to pass; or, "behold", the promised Messiah, whom I have long spoken of, behold, he is come; see Isaiah 42:1, and behold them, his apostles and ministers, publishing the good tidings of salvation, as follows. The Targum is,

"the words of consolation which the prophets prophesied from the beginning concerning Sion, behold they come;''

they come to pass; which is such a proof of deity the idols and their worshippers cannot give:

and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings; which some interpret of Isaiah; others of Cyrus; others of Christ; and others of John the Baptist. I suppose the singular put for the plural, "one that bringeth good tidings", or, "an evangelist for evangelists"; and may be understood of Gospel teachers, whom the Lord gave to his church and people, and by means of whom he spread his Gospel, not only in Judea, but in the Gentile world, to the overthrow of Paganism.

d T. Bab. Pesach. fol. 5. 1. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 63. fol. 55. 3. and Vajikra Rabba, sect. 30. fol. 171. 2. e ראשון לציון "ego primus sum qui dico haec Sioni", Tigurine version.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The first shall say to Zion - This translation is unhappy. It does not convey any clear meaning, nor is it possible from the translation to conjecture what the word ‘first’ refers to. The correct rendering undoubtedly is, ‘I first said to Zion;’ and the sense is, ‘I, Yahweh, first gave to Zion the announcement of these things. I predicted the restoration of the Jews to their own land, and the raising up of the man who should deliver them; and I only have uttered the prophecies respecting the time and circumstances in which these events would occur.’ The Septuagint renders it, ‘I will first give notice to Zion, and I will comfort Jerusalem in the way.’ The Chaldee renders it ‘The words of consolation which the prophets have uttered respecting Zion in the beginning, lo, they are about to come to pass.’ The sense of the passage is, that no one of the idol-gods, or their prophets, had predicted these events. The first intimation of them had been by Yahweh, and this had been made to Zion, and designed for its consolation.

Behold, behold them - Lo, these events are about to come to pass. Zion, or Jerusalem, was to behold them, for they were intended to effect its deliverance, and secure its welfare. The words ‘Zion’ and ‘Jerusalem’ here seem intended to denote the Jewish people in general, or to refer to Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish nation. The intimation had been given in the capital of the nation, and thence to the entire people.

And I will give - Or rather, I give, or I have given. The passage means, that the hearer of the good tidings of the raising up of a deliverer should be sent to the Jewish people. To them the joyful news was announced long before the event; the news of the raising up of such a man - an event of so much interest to them - was made to them long before the pagan had any intimation of it; and it would occur as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy recorded among the Jews. The prophet refers here, doubtless, in the main, to his own prophecies uttered so long before the event would occur, and which would be distinctly known when they would be in exile in Babylon.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 41:27. The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them - "I first to Zion gave the word, Behold they are here"] This verse is somewhat obscure by the transposition of the parts of the sentence, and the peculiar manner in which it is divided into two parallel lines. The verb at the end of the sentence belongs to both parts; and the phrase, Behold, they are here! is parallel to the messenger of glad tidings; and stands like it, as the accusative case to the verb. The following paraphrase will explain the form and the sense of it. "I first, by my prophets, give notice of these events, saying, Behold, they are at hand! and I give to Jerusalem a messenger of glad tidings."