Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 40:23
23He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.
Isaiah 40:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
- New International Version (NIV)He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
- English Standard Version (ESV)who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
Context of Isaiah 40:23
21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth? 22God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland. 24They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem hardly takes root in the ground when he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble. 25“To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
Read all of Isaiah 40Isaiah 40:23 word by word
הַנּוֹתֵ֥ן רוֹזְנִ֖ים לְאָ֑יִן שֹׁ֥פְטֵי אֶ֖רֶץ כַּתֹּ֥הוּ עָשָֽׂה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 40:23
- Isaiah 19:13The princes of Zoan have been fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray.
- Isaiah 23:9The Lord of Armies planned it, to desecrate all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the honored ones of the earth.
- Isaiah 24:21On that day the Lord will punish the army of the heights in the heights and the kings of the ground on the ground.
- Job 12:21He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the strong.
- Job 34:19God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.
- Psalms 76:12He humbles the spirit of leaders; he is feared by the kings of the earth.
- Psalms 107:40he pours contempt on nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
- Jeremiah 25:18Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an example for scorn and cursing — as it is today;
- Luke 1:52he has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
- Revelation 19:18so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military commanders, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.”
Commentaries on Isaiah 40:23
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23That 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…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-26Verses 18-26 Whatever we esteem or love, fear or hope in, more than God, that creature we make equal with God, though we do not make images or worship them. He that is so poor, that he has scarcely a sacrifice to offer, yet will not be without a god of his own. They spared no cost upon their idols; we grudge what is spent in the service of our God. To prove the greatness of God, the prophet appeals to all ages and nations. Those who are ignorant of this…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23princes: God is not impressed by human power or fame. Human strength and reputation do not change who God is.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. (Psa 107:4; Da 2:21). judges--that is, rulers; for these exercised judicial authority (Psa 2:10). The Hebrew, shophtee, answers to the Carthaginian chief magistrates, suffetes.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 40:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 40
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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