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

4Raise up every valley, and bring down every mountain and hill. The rough ground and the ground that has rocks will become flat. 5Then the great glory of the Lord will appear! All people will see it at the same time. The Lord himself has promised this.’ A voice is saying, ‘Shout!’ But I say, ‘What should I shout?’ ‘Shout that all people are like grass. Their promises are like the flowers in a field. 7Grass quickly dies, and flowers fall to the ground. The Lord causes this to happen, when he sends a wind to blow on them. It is true. People are like grass. 8Grass quickly dies, and flowers fall to the ground. But God's promise will be true for ever.’

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 40:3Somebody's voice is shouting, ‘Prepare a way in the wilderness for the Lord. Make a straight road in the desert for our God.
• Isaiah 12:6Everyone who lives in Zion, shout aloud and sing with joy! The Holy God of Israel is great, and he lives among you.’
• Isaiah 58:1The Lord says, ‘Shout out! Shout as loudly as you can! Make as much noise as a trumpet makes! Tell my people that they have not obeyed me. Tell the family of Jacob about their sins.
• Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is on me, because he has chosen me to serve him. He has sent me to tell good news to poor people. He has sent me to comfort people who are very upset. He has sent me to tell prisoners that they are now free. They can go out of their prisons!
• Jeremiah 2:2He said, ‘Go and tell this to the people in Jerusalem: “This is what the Lord says: I remember how you used to love me when you were young. You loved me as a young wife loves her husband. You followed me through the wilderness, where no crops were growing.
• Jeremiah 31:6There will be a time when guards will call out, as they watch for danger in the hills of Ephraim. They will shout, “Let us go up to Zion, to worship the Lord our God.” ’
• Hosea 5:8‘Make a noise with your horns in Gibeah! Make a noise with your trumpets in Ramah! Warn the people in Beth Aven of danger! Men of Benjamin's tribe, prepare to fight!
• Isaiah 37:27The people of those cities have no power. They are afraid and they are confused. They are like plants in a field, that cannot live for a long time. They are like fresh green grass, or grass that grows on the roof of a house. When a hot wind blows on them, it burns them and they die.
• Job 14:2He is like a flower that grows and then it soon dies. His life quickly disappears like a shadow.
• Psalms 90:5You cause people's lives to end, as a dream finishes when you wake up. People are like grass that appears in the morning.
• Psalms 92:7Wicked people may continue to grow, like green grass. Evil people may grow like weeds. But in the end you will destroy them and they will never grow again.
• Psalms 102:11My days are disappearing, like a shadow in the evening. Like dry grass, I will soon die.
• Psalms 103:15A person's life is like grass that quickly dies. He is strong only for a short time, like wild flowers in a field.
• James 1:10And the believers who are rich should also be happy. Why? Because God has shown them that they are not so great. Rich people should remember that they will die, like a wild flower quickly dies.
• 1 Peter 1:24The Bible says: ‘All people are like grass. They may seem beautiful for a short time, like flowers that grow in the fields. But grass soon becomes dry and it dies. Flowers soon fall to the ground.

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