Isaiah 40:6–8

All Flesh Is Grass

Quoted by the apostles in 1 Peter 1:24–25, in the older Greek wording

Side by Side

The Older Text

Septuagint, translated before Messiah

All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower fades: but the word of our God abides for ever. (No line about the breath of Yahuah.)

The Later Text

Masoretic, finished about 1,000 years after the cross

All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of Yahuah bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Quoted in 1 Peter 1:24–25

The apostle’s Old Testament

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Your KJV reads: the longer Hebrew in Isaiah, and the shorter Greek in 1 Peter.

See what changed and why ↓

What Your Bible Says

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
1 Peter 1:24–25 KJV

Peter tells believers they were born again “by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23). Then he quotes Isaiah to prove it.

What Isaiah Says

All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of Yahuah bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
Isaiah 40:6–7 KJV

Isaiah’s version is longer. It says the grass withers twice, and it says why: the breath of Yahuah blows on it.

What Changed

Two things. The Hebrew says “all the goodliness thereof,” and the Greek says “all the glory of man.” And the Greek has the grass wither only once, with no line about the breath of Yahuah. Peter followed the Greek both times.

Nothing in the message is lost. Flesh fades. The word of Elohim does not.

The Word That Stands

Isaiah says “the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Messiah said the same of the Law: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law” (Matthew 5:18). The word Peter preached did not replace the word that stands forever. It is that word.

Purpose of the Change

No motive evident: wording variation only. It matters because Peter quoted the Greek wording, which is why your KJV reads longer in Isaiah and shorter in 1 Peter.

The Bottom Line

Isaiah’s grass withers twice and Peter’s once, but both end the same way: the word stands forever.

The One on the throne says it again at the end: “Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:5).

Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it

Goodliness

The Hebrew word behind “goodliness” is chesed, a word usually used for kindness or loyal love. Here it means the best a man has to offer. The Greek gave it as “glory,” the outward shine of a man, and Peter kept that.

An Honest Note

The missing line is likely an eye-skip, not an edit. The same words, “the grass withereth, the flower fadeth,” come twice, and a copyist’s eye can jump from the first to the second. The great Isaiah scroll from Qumran, copied before Messiah, is also short at this spot in its first writing. Scholars still debate which way the copying went. No motive is involved either way.