Isaiah 40:8 (ASV)

Passage

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:6 The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.

Isaiah 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.

Isaiah 40:9 O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!

Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "grass", "withereth", "flower", "fadeth", "word", "shall", "stand", and "forever". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "grass" and "withereth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "The grass withereth the flower fadeth because..." into verse 9's "O thou that tellest good tidings to...", so "grass" and "withereth" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "grass" and "withereth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.