New Living Translation
Isaiah 40:6
6A 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.
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
4Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. 5Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” 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. 7The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. 8The grass withers and the flowers fade, 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 40:3Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!
- Isaiah 12:6Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
- Isaiah 58:1“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins!
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
- Jeremiah 2:2“Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the Lord says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.
- Jeremiah 31:6The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord our God.’”
- Hosea 5:8“Sound the alarm in Gibeah! Blow the trumpet in Ramah! Raise the battle cry in Beth-aven! Lead on into battle, O warriors of Benjamin!
- Isaiah 37:27That is why their people have so little power and are so frightened and confused. They are as weak as grass, as easily trampled as tender green shoots. They are like grass sprouting on a housetop, scorched before it can grow lush and tall.
- Job 14:2We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.
- Psalms 90:5You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
- Psalms 92:7Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
- Psalms 102:11My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass.
- Psalms 103:15Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
- James 1:10And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.
- 1 Peter 1:24As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.
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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