The Meaning of Isaiah 40:8 Explained

Isaiah 40:8

KJV: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

YLT: Withered hath grass, faded the flower, But a word of our God riseth for ever.

Darby: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God abideth for ever.

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The grass  withereth,  the flower  fadeth:  but the word  of our God  shall stand  for ever. 

What does Isaiah 40:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

In contrast to this withering and wilting, the Word of Yahweh remains forever alive and fresh (cf. Isaiah 55:10-11). That Isaiah , what God says will stand regardless of time or tragedy (cf. Mark 13:31; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 3:8-10). God"s promise of hope could overcome the devastation of His judgment.

Context Summary

Isaiah 40:1-8 - The Cry Of Jehovah's Herald
Voices are ever speaking to us from the infinite; let us heed them.
(1.) There is the voice of forgiveness, Isaiah 40:2. Are you truly penitent? Have you put away your sin? Have you meekly accepted the chastening rod? Then be of good cheer, this promise is for you. The time of hard service as a conscript (the literal rendering) is accomplished, your iniquity is pardoned, you have received double for all your sins. God speaks comfortably to your heart, that you may be able to comfort others as He does you, Isaiah 40:6-8.
(2.) The voice of deliverance, Isaiah 40:3-4. Between Babylon and Canaan lay a great desert of thirty days' journey with mountain ranges, yawning gulfs. But when God arises to deliver His children, "who cry day and night unto Him," crooked places straighten out, rough ones become smooth, and mountains disappear.
(3.) The voices of decay, 2 Corinthians 1:4. The one herald, speaking from his observation of human mortality, describes man and his glory as the "flower of the field." But in contrast to this, another voice seems to break in with the eternal word of God, which stands forever. The precepts, promises, and invitations of the gospel are as sure as God's throne, 1 Peter 1:25. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 40

1  The promulgation of the Gospel
3  The preaching of John Baptist foretold
9  The preaching of the apostles foretold
12  The prophet, by the omnipotence of God
18  And his incomparableness
26  Comforts the people

What do the individual words in Isaiah 40:8 mean?

Withers the grass fades the flower but the word of our God stands forever -
יָבֵ֥שׁ חָצִ֖יר נָ֣בֵֽל צִ֑יץ וּדְבַר־ אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יָק֥וּם לְעוֹלָֽם ס

יָבֵ֥שׁ  Withers 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
חָצִ֖יר  the  grass 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָצִיר 
Sense: grass, leek, green grass, herbage.
נָ֣בֵֽל  fades 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָבֵל 
Sense: to be senseless, be foolish.
צִ֑יץ  the  flower 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: צִיץ 
Sense: flower, bloom.
וּדְבַר־  but  the  word 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ  of  our  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
יָק֥וּם  stands 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
לְעוֹלָֽם  forever 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation