Isaías 40:7

Almeida Revista e Corrigida

Seca-se a erva, e caem as flores, soprando nelas o hlito do SENHOR. Na verdade, o povo erva.

Parallel Translations

A Biblia Sagrada
Seca-se a erva, e cai a flor, soprando nela o Esprito do SENHOR. Na verdade o povo erva.

Almeida Revista e Atualizada
seca-se a erva, e caem as flores, soprando nelas o hlito do SENHOR. Na verdade, o povo erva;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Job 7:6 - swifter Psalms 92:7 - wicked Psalms 102:4 - withered Psalms 103:16 - the wind Isaiah 40:24 - he shall also Ezekiel 21:31 - I will blow Haggai 1:9 - blow upon it James 1:11 - so 1 Peter 1:4 - fadeth

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,.... And so does man, and all his glory and goodliness:

because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: alluding to some impetuous and blasting wind blowing upon herbs and flowers, to the withering and fading of them; see Psalms 103:15, legal ordinances ceased upon the pouring forth of the Spirit. The external excellencies of men, or their outward advantages, perish at the breath of God, at the blast of his nostrils, when taken away by death; and at conversion the Spirit of the Lord blows a blast upon all the goodliness of man; the operations of the Spirit are compared to wind, John 3:8, which, like that, are free, and, as he pleases, are invisible and imperceptible, land powerful and efficacious, and these cause a withering in men's goodness; the Spirit of God shows that their holiness is not true holiness; that their righteousness has only the appearance of one before men; and their religion and godliness a mere form; and their good works, "splendida peccata", shining sins; that those are insufficient to justify and save, and bring to heaven; upon which they fade away and die in their esteem, who now reckon them but loss and dung, Philippians 3:6: "surely the people is grass"; the people of the Jews, with all their external advantages; yea, all people, with all the excellencies of human nature, or considered in their best estate, possessed of all that is reckoned good and great, being but mere natural men. The Targum restrains this to the ungodly, as it does the former verse, rendering it,

"as grass the wicked among the people are esteemed;''

as it does the former, thus,

"the wicked are as grass, and their strength as the stubble of the field.''

So Kimchi interprets them of the nations that come with Gog and Magog; and Jarchi of the princes of the kingdoms; but very wrongly, since it is true of all flesh, or of all mankind.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The grass withereth - Soon withers. Its beauty is soon gone.

The flower fadeth - Soon fades; or fades when the wind of Yahweh passes over it. So is also with man. He loses his vigor, and dies at once when Yahweh takes away his strength and beauty.

Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it - This should be rendered, undoubtedly, ‘When the wind of Yahweh bloweth upon it.’ The word ‘spirit’ here does not suit the connection, and does not express the idea of the prophet. The word רוח rûach means, properly, “breath” - a breathing, or blowing; and is often used indeed to denote spirit, soul, life. But it often means a breath of wind; a breeze; air in motion Job 41:8; Jeremiah 2:24; Jeremiah 14:6. It is applied to the cool breeze which springs up in the evening (Genesis 3:8; compare Song of Solomon 2:17; Song of Solomon 4:6). It sometimes means a strong and violent wind Genesis 8:1; Isaiah 7:2; Isaiah 41:16; and also a tempest, or hurricane Job 1:19; Job 30:15; Isaiah 27:8. The ‘wind of Yahweh’ means that which Yahweh sends, or causes; and the expression here refers, doubtless, to the hot or poisonous east winds which blow in Oriental countries, and which wither and dry up everything before them (compare Jonah 4:8).

Surely the people is grass - Lowth reads this, ‘this people;’ referring to the Jewish nation. So the Syriac. Perhaps it refers to the people of Babylon (so Rosenmuller), and means that mighty people would fade away like grass. But the more probable interpretation is that which regards it as referring to all people, and of course including the Jews and the Babylonians. The sense, according to this view, is, ‘all nations shall fade away. All human power shall cease. But the promise of Yahweh shall survive. It shall be unchanging amidst all revolutions; it shall survive all the fluctuations which shall take place among people. It may, therefore, be trusted with unwavering reliance.’ To produce that reliance was the object of the proclamation. On this passage, descriptive of the state of man, the reader will at once be reminded of the beautiful language of Shakespeare:

This is the state of man! Today he puts forth

The tender leaves of hope: to-morrow blossoms,

And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,

And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely

His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,

And then he falls -

- Never to hope again.

Hen. VIII, Act. ii. Sc. 2.

In the following passage from Tasso, the same image is adopted:

The gentle budding rose (quoth he) behold,

That first scant peeping forth with virgin beams,

Half ope, half shut, her beauties doth up-fold

In their dear leaves, and less seen fairer seems,

And after spreads them forth more broad and bold,

Then languishes and dies in last extremes.

So in the passing of a day doth pass

The bud and blossom of the life of man,

Nor e’er doth flourish more, but, like the grass

Cut down, becometh withered, pale, and wan.

Fairfax, Edit. Windsor, 1817.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 40:7. The grass withereth — The whole of this verse is wanting in three of Kennicott's and five of De Rossi's MSS., and in a very correct and ancient MS. of my own, and also in the Septuagint and Arabic.

Surely the people - "Verily this people"] So the Syriac; who perhaps read העם הזה haam hazzeh.

Because the spirit of the Lord - "When the wind of JEHOVAH"] רוח יהוה ruach Jehovah, a wind of JEHOVAH, is a Hebraism, meaning no more than a strong wind. It is well known that a hot wind in the east destroys every green thing. Compare Psalms 103:16. Two MSS. omit the word יהוה Yehovah, Jehovah.