Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
Parallel translations
- WEB Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?
- KJV Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
- NKJV Sever yourselves from such a man, Whose breath is in his nostrils; For of what account is he?
- NASB Take no account of man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?
- NLT Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?
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
Isaiah urges them to stop trusting in frail, mortal man whose breath is fleeting. Human beings are no fit object of ultimate trust.
Overview
The reminder that man's life is but breath in his nostrils exposes the folly of relying on people. Set against the exalted LORD, human power counts for nothing. This redirects trust to God alone, the only sure foundation, fully revealed in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Jer 17:5This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Ps 146:3Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Jas 4:14You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
- Ps 144:3–4O LORD, what is man, that You regard him, the son of man that You think of him?
- Ps 8:4what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
- Gen 2:7Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Isa 40:15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
- Ps 62:9Lowborn men are but a vapor, the exalted but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.
- Gen 7:22Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
- Job 27:3as long as my breath is still within me and the breath of God remains in my nostrils,
- Job 7:15–21so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 2:22 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.