Bible Strands
Isaiah 40:6
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A divine voice commands a prophet to proclaim a message, to which the prophet responds with a question about the content of the proclamation. This exchange occurs immediately after a declaration that the glory of the LORD will be revealed and all humanity together will see it.
The words — ק֚וֹל (Kol) denotes a voice, and בָּשָׂ֣ר (ba.Sar) denotes flesh, establishing the speaker and the subject of the comparison.
The thread — This imagery of human frailty is echoed in Psalms 103:15 and Psalms 102:11, and is later quoted in 1 Peter 1:24 to describe the transient nature of earthly life.
Why it lands — The text states that all human existence and its achievements are as temporary as field vegetation. It asks the reader to recognize the limits of mortal life before considering the enduring glory of God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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:
Cross-references
- Psalms 103:15 As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field;
- 1 Peter 1:24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
- Psalms 102:11 My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.
- James 1:10 But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
- Job 14:2 Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
- Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Psalms 90:5 You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—
- Psalms 92:7 that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
- Isaiah 37:27 Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, are dismayed and ashamed. They are like plants in the field, tender green shoots, grass on the rooftops, scorched before it is grown.
- Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.