Amplified Bible
Isaiah 40:6
6A voice says, “Call out [prophesy].” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” [The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field.
Isaiah 40:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
- New International Version (NIV)A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
- English Standard Version (ESV)A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
Context of Isaiah 40:6
4Every valley shall be raised, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged places a broad valley. 5And the glory and majesty and splendor of the Lord will be revealed, And all humanity shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” A voice says, “Call out [prophesy].” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” [The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Most certainly [all] the people are [like] grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.
Read all of Isaiah 40Isaiah 40:6 word by word
ק֚וֹל אֹמֵ֣ר קְרָ֔א וְאָמַ֖ר מָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א כָּל־הַבָּשָׂ֣ר חָצִ֔יר וְכָל־חַסְדּ֖וֹ כְּצִ֥יץ הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Cryקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
- All fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- grassחָצִירchâtsîyr · grassH2682
- and all the goodlinessחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
- as the flowerצִיץtsîyts tsits · flowerH6731
- of the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
Cross-references for Isaiah 40:6
- Isaiah 40:3A voice of one is calling out, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles]; Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
- Isaiah 12:6Rejoice and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 58:1“Cry aloud, do not hold back; Lift up your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me To bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives And freedom to prisoners,
- Jeremiah 2:2“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I remember [earnestly] the lovingkindness and devotion of your youth, Your time of betrothal [like that of a bride during the early years in Egypt and again at Sinai], When you followed Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown.
- Jeremiah 31:6For there will be a day when the watchmen On the hills of Ephraim cry out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the Lord our God.’ ”
- Hosea 5:8Blow the horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah [the lofty hills on Benjamin’s northern border]. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven: “Behind you and coming after you [is the enemy], O Benjamin [be on guard]!”
- Isaiah 37:27Therefore their inhabitants had little power, They were terrorized and shamed; They were like the grass of the field and the green vegetation, Like grass on the housetops and like a field [of grain] scorched before it is grown.
- Job 14:2Like a flower he comes forth and withers; He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.
- Psalms 90:5You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep [forgotten as soon as they are gone]; In the morning they are like grass which grows anew—
- Psalms 92:7That though the wicked sprout up like grass And all evildoers flourish, They will be destroyed forever.
- Psalms 102:11My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun]; And as for me, I wither away like grass.
- Psalms 103:15As for man, his days are like grass; Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
- James 1:10and the rich man is to glory in being humbled [by trials revealing human frailty, knowing true riches are found in the grace of God], for like the flower of the grass he will pass away.
- 1 Peter 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers And the flower falls off,
Commentaries on Isaiah 40:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The voice saint Cry "A voice saith Proclaim" - To understand rightly this passage is a matter of importance; for it seems designed to give us the true key to the remaining part of Isaiah's prophecies, the general subject of which is the restoration of the people and Church of God. The prophet opens the subject with great clearness and elegance: he declares at once God's command to his messengers, (his prophets, as the Chaldee rightly explains it), to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6The voice said - Or rather a voice.‘ Isaiah represents himself here again as hearing a voice. The word the‘ introduced in our translation, mars the sense, inasmuch as it leads to the supposition that it was the voice of the same person or crier referred to in Isaiah 40:3. But it is different. That was the voice of a crier or herald, proclaiming that a way was to be open in the desert. This is introduced for a different purpose. It is to proclaim…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Cry out: So that everyone can hear. People are not worthy of the revelation of God’s glory because they are mortal.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. The voice--the same divine herald as in Is 40:3. he--one of those ministers or prophets (see on Is 40:1) whose duty it was, by direction of "the voice," to "comfort the Lord's afflicted people with the promises of brighter days." All flesh is grass--The connection is, "All human things, however goodly, are transitory: God's promises alone steadfast" (Is 40:8, 15, 17, 23, 24); this contrast was already suggested in Is 40:5, "All flesh ... the mouth of…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 40:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 40
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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