Isaiah 40:23

23 1who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Isaiah 40:23 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 40:23

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.

Isaiah 40:23 In-Context

21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Job 12:21; Psalms 107:40
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.