Isaiah 37:27

37:27 Their residents are powerless; ¹ 

they are terrified and ashamed.

They are as short-lived as plants in the field

or green vegetation. ² 

They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ³ 

when it is scorched by the east wind. ⁴ 

Isaiah 40:6

40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”

Another asks, ⁵  “What should I cry out?”

The first voice responds: ⁶  “All people are like grass, ⁷ 

and all their promises ⁸  are like the flowers in the field.

Isaiah 43:20

43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,

the jackals and ostriches,

because I put water in the desert

and streams in the wilderness,

to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

Isaiah 55:12

55:12 Indeed you will go out with joy;

you will be led along in peace;

the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,

and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.

[37:27]  ¹ tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”

[37:27]  ² 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.

[37:27]  ³ tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.

[37:27]  ⁴ 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 Isa^a; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.

[40:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he says.” Apparently a second “voice” responds to the command of the first “voice.”

[40:6]  ⁶ tn The words “the first voice responds” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first voice tells the second one what to declare.

[40:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “all flesh is grass.” The point of the metaphor is explained in v. 7.

[40:6]  ⁸ 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.