40:7 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the Lord 1 blows on them.
Surely humanity 2 is like grass.
40:8 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” 3
44:4 They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, 4
like poplars beside channels of water.
35:7 The dry soil will become a pool of water,
the parched ground springs of water.
Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,
grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.
15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; 5
the grass is dried up,
the vegetation has disappeared,
and there are no plants.
37:27 Their residents are powerless; 6
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation. 7
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 8
when it is scorched by the east wind. 9
40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks, 10 “What should I cry out?”
The first voice responds: 11 “All people are like grass, 12
and all their promises 13 are like the flowers in the field.
51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. 14
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? 15
1 tn The Hebrew text has רוּחַ יְהוָה (ruakh yehvah), which in this context probably does not refer to the Lord’s personal Spirit. The phrase is better translated “the breath of the Lord,” or “the wind of [i.e., sent by] the Lord.” The Lord’s sovereign control over nature, including the hot desert winds that dry up vegetation, is in view here (cf. Ps 147:18; Isa 59:19).
2 tn Heb “the people” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
3 tn Heb “but the word of our God stands forever.” In this context the divine “word” specifically refers to his decreed promise assuring Jerusalem that her suffering is over and his glorious return imminent (vv. 1-5).
5 tn The Hebrew term בֵין (ven) is usually taken as a preposition, in which case one might translate, “among the grass.” But בֵין is probably the name of a tree (cf. C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 133). If one alters the preposition bet (בְּ) to kaf (כְּ), one can then read, “like a binu-tree.” (The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa supports this reading.) This forms a nice parallel to “like poplars” in the next line. חָצִיר (khatsir) is functioning as an adverbial accusative of location.
7 tn Heb “are waste places”; cf. NRSV “are a desolation.”
9 tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”
10 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
11 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
12 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isaa; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.
11 tn Heb “and he says.” Apparently a second “voice” responds to the command of the first “voice.”
12 tn The words “the first voice responds” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first voice tells the second one what to declare.
13 tn Heb “all flesh is grass.” The point of the metaphor is explained in v. 7.
14 tn Heb “and all his loyalty.” The antecedent of the third masculine suffix is בָּשָׂר (basar, “flesh”), which refers collectively to mankind. The LXX, apparently understanding the antecedent as “grass,” reads “glory,” but חֶסֶד (khesed) rarely, if ever, has this nuance. The normal meaning of חֶסֶד (“faithfulness, loyalty, devotion”) fits very well in the argument. Human beings and their faithfulness (verbal expressions of faithfulness are specifically in view; cf. NRSV “constancy”) are short-lived and unreliable, in stark contrast to the decrees and promises of the eternal God.
13 tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.
14 tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.