Isaiah 40:6

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 will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. 5And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. A voice was saying, “Cry out!” Another said, “What should I cry out?” “All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the Lord blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. 8The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”

Isaiah 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 crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
• Isaiah 12:6Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is among you in his greatness.”
• Isaiah 58:1“Cry out loudly, don’t hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Tell my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins.
• Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners;
• Jeremiah 2:2“Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says: I remember the loyalty of your youth, your love as a bride — how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
• Jeremiah 31:6For there will be a day when watchmen will call out in the hill country of Ephraim, “Come, let’s go up to Zion, to the Lord our God!”
• Hosea 5:8Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the war cry in Beth-aven: Look behind you, Benjamin!
• Isaiah 37:27Their inhabitants have become powerless, dismayed, and ashamed. They are plants of the field, tender grass, grass on the rooftops, blasted by the east wind.
• Job 14:2He blossoms like a flower, then withers; he flees like a shadow and does not last.
• Psalms 90:5You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning —
• Psalms 92:7though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be eternally destroyed.
• Psalms 102:11My days are like a lengthening shadow, and I wither away like grass.
• Psalms 103:15As for man, his days are like grass — he blooms like a flower of the field;
• James 1:10but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
• 1 Peter 1:24For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

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

• Church
• Gentiles
• Grass
• Life
• Quotations and Allusions
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Carry
• Cry
• Feed
• Flowers
• Grass
• Renew
• Flesh
• Goodliness
• Isaiah

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