Isaiah 42:23

The question expresses the prophet's wish that now at last some of the people should begin to realise the significance of their relation to Jehovah, and prepare themselves for the great deliverance.

will give ear to this i.e. to the substance of the present exhortation, the contrast between the ideal calling of Israel and its present position, its failure to realise its mission, and (especially) the reason of that failure (Isaiah 42:24 f.).

for the time to come in contrast to past disobedience. It is evident that the prophet expects the mission of Israel to be realised by a conversion of the nation. The process of that conversion is powerfully described in ch. 53.