Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 48:12

"Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last." — Isaiah 48:12 (ASV)

Listen to me - This is a solemn call on the Jews in Babylon to attend to what he was now about to say. It is the beginning 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 Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 44:6).