The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the Lord ¹  blows on them. Surely humanity ²  is like grass.

While they are still beginning to flower ¹  and not ripe for cutting, ²  they can wither away ³  faster ⁴  than any grass! ⁵ 

When the hay is removed and new grass appears, and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” ¹ 

They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, ¹  like poplars beside channels of water.

“Look now at Behemoth, ²  which I made as ³  I made you; it eats grass like the ox.

He provides grass ¹  for the cattle, and crops for people to cultivate, ²  so they can produce food from the ground, ³ 

He covers ¹  the sky with clouds, provides the earth with rain, and causes grass to grow on the hillsides. ² 

Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns; thickets and weeds will grow ¹  in her fortified cities. Jackals will settle there; ostriches will live there. ² 

The dry soil will become a pool of water, the parched ground springs of water. Where jackals once lived and sprawled out, grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.

Their residents are powerless, ¹  they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field, or green vegetation. ²  They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ³  when it is scorched by the east wind. ⁴ 

For the waters of Nimrim are gone; ¹  the grass is dried up, the vegetation has disappeared, and there are no plants.

Their residents are powerless; ¹  they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. ²  They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ³  when it is scorched by the east wind. ⁴ 

A voice says, “Cry out!” Another asks, ¹  “What should I cry out?” The first voice responds: ²  “All people are like grass, ³  and all their promises ⁴  are like the flowers in the field.

“I, I am the one who consoles you. ¹  Why are you afraid of mortal men, of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ² 

Ahab told Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas ¹  so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill ²  some of the animals.”