The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
The first (shall say) to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings - rather, 'I first will give to Zion and to Jerusalem the messenger of good tidings, Behold, behold them!' namely, the soldiers of Cyrus already coming for the assault of Babylon and the deliverance of the Jews, or the Jews returning from their dispersion. The Hebrew affix [mem (m)] is masculine, and requires, therefore, that "them" should refer to persons, not things. The clause "Behold ... them" is inserted in the middle of the sentence as a detached exclamation by an elegant transposition, the language being framed abruptly, as one would speak in putting vividly, as it were, before the eyes of others, some joyous event which he had just learned (L. de Dieu). (Compare Isaiah 11:9.) None of the idols had foretold these events. Yahweh was the "first" to do so (see Isaiah 41:4). If the English version be retained, "the first" will mean He who is the First-namely, God.