The first shall say to Zion. — The italics show the difficulty and abruptness of the originals. A preferable rendering is, (1) I was the first that said to Zion, &c. No oracle or soothsayer anticipated that message of deliverance (Ewald, Del.); or (2) a forerunner shall say ... The words “Behold them” point to the returning exiles. The second clause fits in better with (2), and explains it. Jehovah sends a herald of good news (not Cyrus himself, but a messenger reporting his victories, or possibly Isaiah himself, as a more distant herald) to Jerusalem, to say that the exiles are returning.
Related Commentaries of Isaiah 41:27
Isaiah 41:27
27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.