Isaiah 40:8 (DRB)

Passage

The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.

Nearby Context

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

Isaiah 40:7 The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass:

Isaiah 40:8 The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.

Isaiah 40:9 Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:

Isaiah 40:10 Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "grass", "withered", "flower", "fallen", "word", "lord", "endureth", and "ever". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "grass" and "withered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "The grass is withered and the flower..." into verse 9's "Get thee up upon a high mountain...", so "grass" and "withered" 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 "withered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.