For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off,
Parallel translations
- WEB For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
- KJV For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
- BSB For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
- NKJV because “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,
- NLT As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Quoting Isaiah, Peter notes that all human life and glory are as fleeting as grass and flowers that wither. Human strength and splendor are temporary and fading.
Overview
Peter draws on Isaiah 40:6-8 to contrast frail, transient humanity with the enduring word of God. All flesh and its glory, however impressive, quickly fade like grass scorched by the sun. This sober realism humbles human pride and sets up the enduring permanence of God's word in the next verse.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 40:6–8The voice of one saying, “Cry!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.
- Ps 103:15As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
- Jas 4:14Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
- Jas 1:10–11and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.
- Ps 37:2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
- 2 Kgs 19:26Therefore their inhabitants had little power. They were dismayed and confounded. They were like the grass of the field, and like the green herb, like the grass on the housetops, and like grain blasted before it has grown up.
- 1 Jn 2:17The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
- Ps 92:7though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
- Ps 129:6Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up;
- Ps 90:5You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass.
- Ps 102:4My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The lamb without blemish foreknown before the world, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, by whose wounds we are healed — the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
How 1 Peter 1:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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