Isaiah 48:12
in Isaiah 48Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
KJV
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 48
Commentary
9 notes on this verseO Jacob “O Jacob, my servant” - After יעקב yaakob, a MS. of Kennicott’s, two of De Rossi’s, and the two old editions of 1486 and 1488, add the word עבדי abdi, “my servant,” which is lost out of the present text; and there is a rasure in its place in another ancient MS. The Jerusalem Talmud has the same word. I also am the last “I am the last” - For אף אני aph ani, “even I,” two ancient MSS. and the ancient Versions, read ואני veani, “and I;” more properly.
This site's exposition
Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel
on Isaiah 48:12-13
“Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel” renews the summons, and the self-description carries the weight, “I am the first, and I am the last”. The book repeats this claim through its trial chapters. Verse 13 grounds it in creation, “My own hand founded the earth”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 12, 13 and following) Hear me, Jacob and Israel, whom I call. I am the first and the last. My hand also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand measures the heavens: I have called them, and they will stand together. Gather yourselves and listen: who among them has declared these things? The Lord loved him: he will fulfill his will in Babylon and his arm in the Chaldeans. I, I have spoken and called him: I have brought him, and his way is made straight.
No one should suppose that there is another God, either before or afterwards. He said, "From age to age," just as Isaiah said, "I am the first and I am the last." And after God had brought forth Adam from within his thought, he fashioned him, and breathed into him of his Spirit and gave him the knowledge of discernment so that he might discern good from evil and might know that God made him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
889. Hearken to me. Here he shows the divine majesty from the creation of things. I shall call them, placing on each its proper work, and they shall stand, ready to obey, above: who has poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth? (Isa …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He shows them that, as it was by their own sin that they brought themselves into captivity, so it would be only by the grace of God that they would obtain the necessary preparatives for their enlargement,
): " I am he who can do what I will and will do what is best, he whom none can compare with, much less contend with. I also am the last. " Who can be too quick for him that is the first, or anticipate him? Who can be too hard for him that is the last, and will keep the field against all opposers, and will reign till they are all made his footstool?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hearken unto me - This is a solemn call on the Jews in Babylon to attend to what he was now about to say. It is the commencement of a new part of the argument, containing the assurance that he would deliver them, and utterly destroy the Chaldeans. He begins, therefore, by asserting that he is the only true God, and that he is able to accomplish all his purposes. My called - The people whom I have chosen, or called. I am he - I am the same; or I am the true and only God. I am the first - (See the notes at Isa 41:4; Isa 44:6).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Hearken to Me, O Jacob The name that your father called you.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁמַ֤ע | shema' | listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵלַי֙ | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב | yaako | O Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | veyisrael | and Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מְקֹרָאִ֑י | mekorai | called [one] my | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֲנִי־ | ʾani- | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| הוּא֙ | hu' | [am] he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| רִאשׁ֔וֹן | rishon | [am] first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| אַ֖ף | ʾaf | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אַחֲרֽוֹן׃ | ʾacharon | [am] last | H314 → | 51 times |
שְׁמַ֤עlisten
shema'H8085 →1159 times
אֵלַי֙to me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
יַֽעֲקֹ֔בO Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לand Israel
veyisraelH3478 →2507 times
מְקֹרָאִ֑יcalled [one] my
mekoraiH7121 →733 times
אֲנִי־I
ʾani-H589 →874 times
הוּא֙[am] he
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
רִאשׁ֔וֹן[am] first
rishonH7223 →182 times
אַ֖ףalso
ʾafH637 →134 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אַחֲרֽוֹן׃[am] last
ʾacharonH314 →51 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 8:28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
- Genesis 50:20
As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
- Romans 5:3–5
Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
- 1 Corinthians 2:9
Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
- 1 Peter 5:10
Through
Isaiah 44:6Thus 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.
it leads to
- Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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
Through
Revelation 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 22:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Aphrahat the Persian Sage, DEMONSTRATIONS 17:7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.