After the lengthy description of the activities of Cyrus, the LORD once again asks who has caused Cyrus to be victorious. He answers that he has done it himself.

Who has performed and done this…?: The synonymous verbs performed and done emphasize the action in this question. Good News Translation combines them with “Who was it that made this happen?” If translators prefer only one verb here, they may keep the emphasis by adding an adverb such as “actually” (see the first examples below). The pronoun this is not present in the Hebrew text, but is implied. It refers back to calling Cyrus from the east and making him victorious (verses 2-3).

Calling the generations from the beginning: New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and Bible en français courant treat this line as an answer to the question in the previous one; for example, for the first two lines New American Bible has “Who has performed these deeds? He who has called forth the generations since the beginning.” However, this line is more likely another question, parallel to the first one (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible). God first asks who called Cyrus into action. Now he asks who has been calling people as agents from every generation in the past. For the Hebrew verb rendered calling, see the comments on Isa 41.2, where it is translated “meets.” For from the beginning, see the comments on 40.21. For this line Good News Translation says “Who has determined the course of history?” and Bible en français courant has “It is he who announces in advance the things that must happen.” The problem with these renderings is that it moves the focus from God’s call of his agents to a more general statement about the divine direction of all human history.

I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am He: Here is the answer to the previous questions. The one who has called Cyrus from the east and all other agents in the past is none other than Israel’s God, Yahweh. These two lines are literally “I Yahweh [am] first and with [the] last [plural] I [am] he.” The pronouns I (twice) and He are emphatic. Good News Translation has “I, the LORD” twice in order to draw out the emphasis. The Hebrew adjective rendered first is from the same root as the word for beginning. With the terms first and last Yahweh is claiming to be eternal. These words are frequently used in the context of God’s control of all history.

However, there are two possible ways to understand the last two lines. First, they may be read “I Yahweh am first, and with the last I am he,” which has the following chiastic structure: I > first > < last < I. This reading means Yahweh was present at the beginning of human history and will be there when it ends. Most versions express this sense; for example, New Revised Standard Version has “I, the LORD, am first, and will be with the last” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and Good News Translation says “I, the LORD, was there at the beginning, and I, the LORD, will be there at the end” (similarly Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant). The other possible way to read these lines is “I Yahweh am first and with the last; I am he.” This reading makes the final words “I am he” an independent, emphatic statement, which means “I am the one who has done this,” not some other so-called god. These words add emphasis to the previous claim of Yahweh as the only God. They occur again several times in chapters 40–55 to underline this claim (see 43.10, 13, 25; 46.4; 48.12; 51.12). Revised Standard Version and New International Version follow this reading. New International Version has “I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.” We recommend that translators render “I am he” as an independent statement since it is a fixed expression in this part of Isaiah. They will need to consider if the same expression can be kept each time it occurs.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Who has actually achieved this?
Who has called each generation from the very beginning?
It is I, Yahweh, who was the first [singular] and will be with the last [plural].
I am the one.

• Who has done all this?
Who has summoned [agents from] every generation from time immemorial?
It is I, Yahweh, the beginning and the end.
I am the one.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .