Isaiah 51:12
in Isaiah 51“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass;
KJV
I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
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This verse in Isaiah 51
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I even I am he that comforteth you - The word ‘I’ is repeated here to give emphasis to the passage, and to impress deeply upon them the fact that their consolation came alone from God. The argument is, that since God was their protector and friend, they had no occasion to fear anything that man could do. Of a man that shall die - God your comforter will endure forever. But all men - even the most mighty - must soon die.
This site's exposition
I, even I, am He who comforts you
on Isaiah 51:12-13
The comfort turns into a rebuke of fear of “a son of man who withers like grass”. That man is set beside the Maker, and the fear is traced to a forgetting. The closing question about “the fury of the oppressor” speaks of that fury as already gone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12, 13.) I, I myself will comfort you. Who are you that you fear from a mortal man, and from the son of man, who will dry up like grass? And you have forgotten the God your maker, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth; and you were constantly afraid all day long because of the fury of the one who was afflicting you, who had prepared to destroy. Where is the fury of the one afflicting you now?
The Medieval Church1 voice
932. I myself. Here is set out the response of the Lord speaking to the people. And first, he promises comfort: I will comfort: blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, and below this, and the God of all comfort: who comforts us …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
1 ); but, because they cannot reach the heart, he takes the work into his own hands: I, even I, will do it. See how he glories in it; he takes it among the titles of his honour to be the God that comforts those that are cast down; he delights in being so. Those whom God comforts are comforted indeed; nay, his undertaking to comfort them is comfort enough to them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Sin having put the whole creation into disorder, Christ's taking away the sin of the world put all into order again. Old things have passed away, all things have become new; things in heaven and things on earth are reconciled, and so put into a new posture, Col. i. Through him, according to the promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth ( 2 Pet. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
I, even I, am he that comforteth you,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3098: “Needless Fears” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
OBJECTS often influence us out of proportion to their value because of their nearness. For instance, the moon is a very small insignificant body compared with the sun, yet it has far more influence over the tides and many other matters in the world than the sun has simply because it is so much nearer to the earth than the sun is. The life that is to come is infinitely more important than the life that now is and I hope that in our inmost hearts, we reckon that the things that are seen and temporal are mere trifles compared with the things which are not seen and eternal! Yet it often happens that the less important matters have a greater influence over us than those which are far more important, simply because the things of earth are so much nearer to us. Heaven is infinitely more to be desired than any joy of earth, yet it seems far off and, therefore, these fleeting joys may give us greater present comfort. The wrath of God is far more to be dreaded than the anger of man, yet sometimes a frown or a rebuke from a fellow creature will have more effect upon our minds than the thought of the anger of God. This is because the one appears to be remote, while, being in this body, we are so near to the other. Now, Beloved, it will sometimes happen that a matter which is scarcely worthy of the thought of an immortal spirit will fret and worry us from day to day. There is some oppressor, as the text puts it, whom we dread and fear continually, yet we forget the Almighty God who is on our side, who is stronger than all the oppressors who have ever lived and who has all people and all things under His control! The reason why we act thus is because we think of God as if He were far off, while we can see the oppressor with our eyes and we can hear with our ears his threatening words.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3098: “Needless Fears” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
OBJECTS often influence us out of proportion to their value because of their nearness. For instance, the moon is a very small insignificant body compared with the sun, yet it has far more influence over the tides and many other matters in the world than the sun has simply because it is so much nearer to the earth than the sun is.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
who are you the daughter of the righteous like you and full of merits, why should you fear man, whose end is to die?
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the redeemed of the Lord shall return This is an expression of prayer, and it is connected to “Awaken, awaken.”
And you forgot the Lord your Maker and you did not rely on Him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָנֹכִ֧י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אָנֹכִ֛י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | [am] he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מְנַחֶמְכֶ֑ם | menachemkhem | [who] comforts you | H5162 → | 108 times |
| מִֽי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אַ֤תְּ | ʾat | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וַתִּֽירְאִי֙ | vatirei | and you have been afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מֵאֱנ֣וֹשׁ | meenoosh | from a person | H582 → | 566 times |
| יָמ֔וּת | yamut | [who] he dies | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וּמִבֶּן־ | umiben- | and from a child of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֖ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| חָצִ֥יר | chatzir | [who] grass | H2682 → | 21 times |
| יִנָּתֵֽן׃ | yinaten | he is made | H5414 → | 2011 times |
אָנֹכִ֧יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אָנֹכִ֛יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
ה֖וּא[am] he
hu'H1931 →1879 times
מְנַחֶמְכֶ֑ם[who] comforts you
menachemkhemH5162 →108 times
מִֽי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
אַ֤תְּ[are] you
ʾatH859 →1094 times
וַתִּֽירְאִי֙and you have been afraid
vatireiH3372 →315 times
מֵאֱנ֣וֹשׁfrom a person
meenooshH582 →566 times
יָמ֔וּת[who] he dies
yamutH4191 →839 times
וּמִבֶּן־and from a child of
umiben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֖םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
חָצִ֥יר[who] grass
chatzirH2682 →21 times
יִנָּתֵֽן׃he is made
yinatenH5414 →2011 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 118:6The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:6
So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Psalms 56:4
In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Hebrews 13:6
Through
1 Peter 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:6–8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
- James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 103:15
As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field;
- Isaiah 40:6–8
Through
John 14:18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
it leads to
- John 14:3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
- John 14:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3098: “Needless Fears” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.