Yesaya 40:7

40:7 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

when the wind sent by the Lord ¹  blows on them.

Surely humanity ²  is like grass.

Yesaya 66:16

66:16 For the Lord judges all humanity ³ 

with fire and his sword;

the Lord will kill many. ⁴ 

[40:7]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has רוּחַ יְהוָה (ruakh yehvah), which in this context probably does not refer to the Lord’s personal Spirit. The phrase is better translated “the breath of the Lord,” or “the wind of [i.e., sent by] the Lord.” The Lord’s sovereign control over nature, including the hot desert winds that dry up vegetation, is in view here (cf. Ps 147:18; Isa 59:19).

[40:7]  ² tn Heb “the people” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[66:16]  ³ tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “upon all men”; TEV “all the people of the world.”

[66:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “many are the slain of the Lord.”