The grass withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.
Parallel translations
- KJV The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
- BSB The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.
- NKJV The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.
- NASB The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the Lord blows upon it; The people are indeed grass!
- NLT The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people.
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
Grass and flowers wither at the breath of God, showing that human glory fades under His sovereign power.
Overview
The fragility of people is attributed directly to the Lord's action: His breath (or spirit/wind) blows and what seemed alive withers. The point is not cruelty but the vast difference between transient humanity and the eternal God. Apart from God's enduring word, all human pretension to permanence collapses.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Job 41:21His breath kindles coals. A flame goes out of his mouth.
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 40:7 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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