who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
Parallel Translations
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who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
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That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
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That bringeth princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Isaiah 40:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 12:21 He pours contempt on princes, and loosens the belt of the strong.
- Psalms 107:40 He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
- Isaiah 34:12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.
- Jeremiah 25:18-27 Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, with its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is today; Pharaoh king of Egypt, with his servants, his princes, and all his people; and all the mixed people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; Edom, Moab, and the children of Ammon; and all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea; Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have the corners of their beard cut off; and all the kings of Arabia, all the kings of the mixed people who dwell in the wilderness; and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the surface of the earth. The king of Sheshach will drink after them. “You shall tell them, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Drink, and be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’
- Job 34:19-20 He doesn’t respect the persons of princes, nor respect the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands. In a moment they die, even at midnight. The people are shaken and pass away. The mighty are taken away without a hand.
- Psalms 76:12 He will cut off the spirit of princes. He is feared by the kings of the earth.
- Isaiah 19:13-14 The princes of Zoan have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, who are the cornerstone of her tribes. Yahweh has mixed a spirit of perverseness in the middle of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in all of its works, like a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
- Isaiah 23:9 Yahweh of Armies has planned it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
- Isaiah 24:21-22 It will happen in that day that Yahweh will punish the army of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth. They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; and after many days they will be visited.
- Luke 1:51-52 He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly.
- Revelation 19:18-20 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, small and great.” I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army. The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 40:23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he…
Isa 40:23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Ver. 23. That bringeth princes to nothing.] After their part acted here a while, they go off the stage of life, and are seen no more. Augustus Caesar said, that his life was nothing else but a kind of a comedy; and that he had acted his part, as became him, and therefore, at his death, he called for a Plaudite. applause.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That bringeth the princes to nothing; that can at…
That bringeth the princes to nothing; that can at his pleasure destroy all the great potentates of the world.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain That bringeth princes to nothing,.... The great men of…
That bringeth princes to nothing,.... The great men of the earth, kings, rulers, and nobles, these he brings to the dust; and all their counsels, schemes, and purposes, come to nothing; and their monarchies and kingdoms too in time. Where are now the Babylonish, Persian, and Grecian monarchies, and those great princes that formerly reigned in them?
he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity; their decrees and decisions to stand for nothing, as "tohu" and "bohu", the first of which words is used here; so that they are no more regarded and attended to.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain That bringeth the princes to nothing - That is,…
That bringeth the princes to nothing - That is, all princes and kings. No matter how great their power, their wealth, and their dignity, they are, by his hand, reduced to nothing before him. The design of this passage is to contrast the majesty of God with that of princes and nobles, and to show how far he excels them all. The general truth is therefore stated, that all monarchs are by him removed from their thrones, and consigned to nothing. The same idea is expressed in Job 12:21 :
He poureth contempt upon princes,
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And weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
And in Psa 107:40 :
He poureth contempt upon princes,
And causeth them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way.
The particular idea here, as appears from the next verse, is, that the princes and rulers who are opposed to God constitute no real resistance to the execution of his purposes. He can strip off their honors and glory, and obliterate even their names.
He maketh the judges of the earth - Kings and princes often executed judgment personally, and hence, the words judges and kings seem to be synonymous as they are used here, and in Psa 2:10 :
Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings;
Be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Searchers. Hebrew, "princes to nothing." (Protestants) --- Philosophers know…
Searchers. Hebrew, "princes to nothing." (Protestants) --- Philosophers know nothing independently of God, nor can they subsist without him. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Psa 107:4; Dan 2:21).
(Psa 107:4; Dan 2:21).
judges--that is, rulers; for these exercised judicial authority (Psa 2:10). The Hebrew, shophtee, answers to the Carthaginian chief magistrates, suffetes.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23, 24. Princes… judges… vanity — Other predicates are…
23, 24. Princes… judges… vanity — Other predicates are here added respecting God, the ruler of the universe. He annihilates the potentates and judges of the earth when they displease him. In various ways hevisits them. They are scarcely planted, (to use the figure of the verse,) scarcely sown, etc., ere the hot eastern blast withers them, and carries them away. The meaning is plain, though the figure is mixed.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23, 24. The majesty of God displayed in Providence.
23, 24. The majesty of God displayed in Providence.
princes] dignitaries (a poetic word), “potent, grave and reverend signiors.” as vanity] “as nothingness,” lit. “chaos”; see on Isa_40:17. For he maketh, render who maketh.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) That bringeth the princes to nothing.—The words imply,…
(23) That bringeth the princes to nothing.—The words imply, like those of Isa_14:9, the prophetic strain of experience. The past is full of the records of kingdoms that are no more; so also shall the future be; mortalia facta peribunt. In “vanity” we have the familiar tohu once more.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The princes... the judges; rather, princes, judges. The entire…
The princes... the judges; rather, princes, judges. The entire class of such is meant, not any special individuals. (comp. Psa_107:40 Job_12:19-21) As vanity; or, as chaos the same word that is used in ver. 17.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain That bringeth the princes to nothing
Isa_40:23-24
That bringeth the princes to nothing
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Great men reduced to nothing
Earth has its great men.
Social distinctions grow out of the constitution of things, and are, therefore, Divine in their foundation.
I. EARTHS GREAT MEN GOD REDUCES TO NOTHING.
1. Death is the destruction of all mere worldly distinctions.
2. Death is effected by the agency of God. He bringeth, etc. Not chance, fate, accident, etc.
II. Earths great men He reduces to nothing NOTWITHSTANDING THEIR DETERMINED EFFORTS TO BE SOMETHING. Their stock shall not take root in the earth;
1. The implied tendency of earths great men in relation to life. They seek to root themselves here.
2. The manifest folly of earths great men. They are trying to do what they cannot accomplish. Heavens decree is against it, and there is no overcoming that decree. The roots of our earthly life, such as they are, are only like those of certain marine plants, that spring up one floating wavelet to be destroyed by the next; or rather like the roots of those atmospheric plants that strike only into a wave of air; that roll swiftly on, Heaven only knows where.
III. HE DOES THIS WITH THE GREATEST EASE. He blows upon them and they wither, etc. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 He reduces
He reduces
"Yahweh reduces"
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They are barely planted ... and they wither
The prophet speaks of rulers being helpless before Yahweh as if they were new plants that wither away when a hot wind blows on them. (See: Metaphor)
They are barely planted, barely sown
These two phrases mean basically the same thing and refer to the point at which the plants or seeds are placed into the ground. They can be stated in active form. AT: "As soon as someone plants them ... as soon as someone sows them" (See: Parallelism and Active or Passive)
he blows upon them
The prophet speaks of Yahweh removing the rulers from power as if Yahweh were a scorching wind that blows upon the plants and causes them to wither. (See: Metaphor)
the wind carries them away like straw
This simile extends the metaphor of the rulers as plants and Yahweh as the wind that causes them to wither. The wind of Yahweh's judgement will remove the withered plants as easily as wind blows away straw. (See: Simile)
translationWords
rule
earth
plant
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 40:23 great people: God is unimpressed by human power…
40:23 great people: God is unimpressed by human power and fame.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.