Introduction
One verse before the great promise that God's word stands forever (v. 8), Isaiah names what does not. Human life — empires, fame, the strongest among us — is grass. The same Spirit that gives breath sweeps it away.
Historical Context
Isaiah's audience faced the imminent rise and fall of empires. The image of grass scorched by Middle Eastern desert wind would be daily and devastating.
Original Language Insights
'Spirit of the LORD bloweth' (ruach Adonai nashvah bo) — the wind/breath of God blows on it. Ruach is both wind and breath; God's breath gives and takes life.
Theological Significance
Human transience is by divine design. Mortality is not the random misfortune of a long-running biological accident; it is God's wind on grass. The setting frames the glory of v. 8.
Practical Application
Stop investing eternally in what is grass. Money, beauty, achievement, even loved ones — all wither under His wind. The wise plant their hopes in v. 8's enduring word.