Isaiah 41:27

²⁵ I have raised up one from the north, and he has come— one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay.

²⁶ Who has declared this from the beginning, so that we may know, and from times past, so that we may say: ‘He was right’? No one announced it, no one foretold it, no one heard your words.

I was the first to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

²⁸ When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.

²⁹ See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: I was the first to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
KJV: The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
WEB: I am the first to say to Zion, ‘Behold, look at them;’ and I will give one who brings good news to Jerusalem.
ASV: [I am the] first [that saith] unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
DARBY: The first, [I said] to Zion, Behold, behold them! and to Jerusalem, I will give one that bringeth glad tidings.
BLB: First to Zion—behold, behold them!—And to Jerusalem, I will give one bringing news.

ÅB: Jeg er den første som sier til Sion: Se, se, der er de, og som sender Jerusalem et gledesbud.
OTB: Jeg var den første til å si til Sion, 'Se, her er de!' Jeg ga til Jerusalem en budbringer med gode nyheter.
B1930: Jeg er den første som sier til Sion: Se, se, der er de, og som sender Jerusalem et gledesbud.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

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!”
Read in context
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!”
Read in context
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.’”
Read in context
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.
Read in context
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.
Read in context
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.
Read in context
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.”
Read in context
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.
Read in context