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 Living Translation (NLT)A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.

Context of Isaiah 40:6

4Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 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. 7The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands 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 40:3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
• Isaiah 12:6Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
• Isaiah 58:1“Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.
• Isaiah 61:1“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
• Jeremiah 2:2“Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown.
• Jeremiah 31:6For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the Lord our God.’ ”
• Hosea 5:8“Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah! Cry aloud at Beth Aven, ‘Look behind you, O Benjamin!’
• Isaiah 37:27Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown.
• Job 14:2He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
• Psalms 90:5You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
• Psalms 92:7When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever.
• Psalms 102:11My days are like a shadow that lengthens, And I wither away like grass.
• Psalms 103:15As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
• James 1:10but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.
• 1 Peter 1:24because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,

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