God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 40:6
6A voice called, “Call out!” I asked, “What should I call out?” “Call out: All people are like grass, and all their beauty is like a flower in 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 will be raised. Every mountain and hill will be lowered. Steep places will be made level. Rough places will be made smooth. 5Then the Lord’s glory will be revealed and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken.” A voice called, “Call out!” I asked, “What should I call out?” “Call out: All people are like grass, and all their beauty is like a flower in the field. 7Grass dries up, and flowers wither when the Lord’s breath blows on them. Yes, people are like grass. 8Grass dries up, and flowers wither, but our God’s word will last 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 cries out in the desert: “Clear a way for the Lord. Make a straight highway in the wilderness for our God.
- Isaiah 12:6Shout loudly, and sing with joy, people of Zion! The Holy One of Israel is great. He is among you.”
- Isaiah 58:1Cry aloud! Don’t hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Tell my people about their rebellion and the descendants of Jacob about their sins.
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me because the Lord has anointed me to deliver good news to humble people. He has sent me to heal those who are brokenhearted, to announce that captives will be set free and prisoners will be released.
- Jeremiah 2:2“Go and announce to Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: I remember the unfailing loyalty of your youth, the love you had for me as a bride. I remember how you followed me into the desert, into a land that couldn’t be farmed.
- Jeremiah 31:6There will be a day when watchmen on the mountains of Ephraim will call out this message: ‘Arise! Let’s go to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ”
- Hosea 5:8“Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah. Blow the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth Aven, you descendants of Benjamin.
- Isaiah 37:27Those who live in these cities are weak, discouraged, and ashamed. They will be like plants in the field, like fresh, green grass on the roofs, dried up by the east wind.
- Job 14:2He comes up like a flower; then he withers. He is like a fleeting shadow; he doesn’t stay long.
- Psalms 90:5You sweep mortals away. They are a dream. They sprout again in the morning like cut grass.
- Psalms 92:7that wicked people sprout like grass and all troublemakers blossom ⌞like flowers⌟, only to be destroyed forever.
- Psalms 102:11My days are like a shadow that is getting longer, and I wither away like grass.
- Psalms 103:15Human life is as short-lived as grass. It blossoms like a flower in the field.
- James 1:10Rich believers should be proud because being rich should make them humble. Rich people will wither like flowers.
- 1 Peter 1:24“All people are like grass, and all their beauty is like a flower of the field. The grass dries up and the flower drops 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries