He shall cut off the spirit of princes
The pride of their spirits, as the Targum, humble their proud spirits, and bring them down; or dispirit them, take away their courage from them, upon which they flee apace to rocks and mountains to cover them; or confound them, blast their schemes, and carry their counsel headlong, and even take away their breath, or life; which he can as easily do as a man can cut off a bunch of grapes from the vine, as the word F7 here used signifies; the destruction of the wicked is expressed by cutting down the vine of the earth, and casting it into the winepress of God's wrath, ( Revelation 14:17-19 ) ,
he is terrible to the kings of the earth;
as he was to the king of Assyria, when he sent his angel, and destroyed his army; and as he has been to others in all ages; so he will be to the kings of the earth that have committed fornication with the whore of Rome, who will be in the utmost panic at the time of her destruction, ( Revelation 18:9 Revelation 18:10 ) , and who will themselves be overcome by the Lamb, ( Revelation 16:14 Revelation 16:16 ) ( Revelation 17:12 Revelation 17:14 ) ( 19:19-21 ) . The Targum is, he is to be feared above all the kings of the earth.