New International Version
Isaiah 40:23
23He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.
Context of Isaiah 40:23
21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 25“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says 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 officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray.
- Isaiah 23:9The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
- Isaiah 24:21In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
- Job 12:21He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
- Job 34:19who shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
- Psalms 76:12He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.
- Psalms 107:40he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste.
- Jeremiah 25:18Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn, a curse—as they are today;
- Luke 1:52He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
- Revelation 19:18so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”
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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