Isaiah 40 23

Isaiah 40:23 kjv

That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

Isaiah 40:23 nkjv

He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.

Isaiah 40:23 niv

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

Isaiah 40:23 esv

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

Isaiah 40:23 nlt

He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing.

Isaiah 40 23 Cross References

VerseTextReference
Ps 2:4The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.God mocks human resistance
Ps 76:12He breaks the spirit of princes; he is to be feared by the kings of the earth.God's power over rulers
Dan 2:21He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.God orchestrates human authority
Prov 21:1The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD...God guides rulers' decisions
Job 12:24He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s peoples...God can incapacitate leaders
Rom 13:1For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.All authority comes from God
Lk 1:52He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.God's reversal of status
Isa 40:22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.Immediate context: God's exalted position
Ps 146:3Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.Human rulers are unreliable
Jer 1:10See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down...God grants power to dismantle kingdoms
Rev 1:5And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.Christ's ultimate rule
Rev 19:15-16From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations... on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.Christ as supreme conqueror
Isa 2:22Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils.Emphasis on human transience
Isa 41:21-29The Lord challenges idols, showing their powerlessness.Contrast God with false gods and their limited rulers
1 Cor 2:6Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.Worldly rulers are fleeting
Ps 82:6-7I said, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince."Mortal nature of powerful leaders
Dan 4:17...that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of mortals and gives them to anyone he wishes...God's absolute dominion over kingdoms
Hab 1:6-7For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans... dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.God raises up and uses powerful nations
Ex 9:16But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.God uses rulers for His glory
Isa 10:5-7Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hand is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him...God uses wicked nations as His instruments
Gen 1:2The earth was without form and void (Hebrew: tohu and bohu).The word tohu used to denote chaos/emptiness
Eze 31:1-18Illustrates the downfall of proud earthly rulers likened to a magnificent tree that is cut down.Humbling of the proud ruler (Assyria)

Isaiah 40 verses

Isaiah 40 23 Meaning

Isaiah 40:23 proclaims God's supreme authority over all human rulers. It declares that the Lord, the incomparable Creator, renders the most powerful and influential earthly leaders — princes and judges of the world — utterly insignificant, reducing their power and glory to nothingness and chaos. This verse underscores God's absolute sovereignty and the transient nature of all human dominion compared to His eternal and omnipotent reign.

Isaiah 40 23 Context

Isaiah 40:23 is situated at the beginning of Isaiah's "Book of Comfort" (chapters 40-55), delivered primarily to the Judean exiles in Babylon. The preceding verses (40:12-22) vividly portray God's incomparability as the mighty Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos, contrasting His eternal power with the utter fragility and transience of humanity and all its works. Verse 23 specifically builds on this by extending God's incomparable power from creation to the realm of human governance. In a historical context where the Judeans were subjected to mighty foreign empires like Assyria and Babylon, their own rulers dethroned, and their land conquered, this message offered profound comfort and a refutation of the apparent invincibility of their oppressors. It serves as a direct polemic against the pervasive ancient Near Eastern belief in the divine power or inherent greatness of kings and emperors, asserting that the Lord, Israel's God, alone holds ultimate dominion, capable of dissolving even the strongest earthly authorities into nothingness.

Isaiah 40 23 Word analysis

  • He: Refers implicitly to "the Lord," as established in Isa 40:10-22. This 'He' is the singular, supreme deity, distinct from all other perceived powers.
  • brings to naught: The Hebrew verb מֵאִ֣ין (māʾîn) comes from a root meaning to refuse, deny, or bring to nothing. Here, it is causative (Hiphil), meaning "causes to be nothing" or "annihilates." It signifies God's active role in diminishing or rendering powerless.
  • princes: נְדִיבִ֑ים (nəḏîḇîm). This term refers to nobles, magnates, or those of noble birth or generous spirit, often signifying powerful and influential leaders or royalty. Its usage here emphasizes that even the most esteemed human authorities are subject to God's power.
  • and reduces: The Hebrew conjunction וְ (ve) means "and." שֹׁפֵטֵ֖י (šōp̄əṭê) is "judges" or "rulers." In ancient societies, judges often held significant administrative and political power beyond just legal arbitration, acting as local governors or leaders.
  • of the earth: אָ֥רֶץ (ʾāreṣ). This signifies universal scope—rulers not just of one nation but of the entire habitable world, emphasizing the extent of God's dominion over all human authority across the globe.
  • to nothing: לְתֹהּ֥וּ (ləṯōhū). This word, famously found in Gen 1:2 ("formless and void"), describes a state of waste, desolation, chaos, or emptiness. Its use here powerfully conveys the utter obliteration or meaninglessness God can bring upon human power, reducing it to an empty void.
  • He brings princes to naught: This phrase establishes God as the active agent who directly undermines the established power structures and perceived might of elite human leadership. It implies a divine intervention that can quickly strip away all power and prestige.
  • and reduces the rulers of the earth to nothing: This parallel clause amplifies the preceding statement, using slightly different terminology ("rulers of the earth" instead of "princes") and a stronger imagery of desolation ("to nothing/chaos" using tohu). The parallelism emphasizes the totality and universal scope of God's power over all earthly dominion, showing that no human authority, no matter how great, is beyond His reach or above His will.

Isaiah 40 23 Bonus section

The concept of God reducing powerful entities to tohu (emptiness/chaos) carries deep theological weight, echoing the pre-creation state (Gen 1:2). It suggests that God, who brought order from primordial chaos, can just as easily return established, proud human order to a state of void. This underscores His ultimate control over all existence and His ability to unravel human accomplishments at will. This prophetic declaration offers profound encouragement that the seemingly invincible empires are not stable realities but temporal arrangements, wholly dependent on God's tolerance, serving His greater, eternal purposes. Their eventual downfall or reduction to "nothing" is not just a passive fading away but an active demonstration of divine power and judgment.

Isaiah 40 23 Commentary

Isaiah 40:23 serves as a pivotal statement in God's message of comfort to His exiled people, emphatically declaring His unparalleled sovereignty. Against the backdrop of towering empires that seemed unconquerable, God asserts that even the most formidable "princes" and "rulers of the earth" are utterly temporary and ultimately powerless before Him. He actively orchestrates their demotion, reducing their grandeur to a state of utter emptiness, even to primeval chaos (tohu), reminiscent of the void before creation. This verse demolishes any human claim to ultimate authority, assuring the downtrodden exiles that their God—who formed the cosmos—also controls the tides of history and the destinies of all nations. It is a profound declaration of monotheism, elevating Yahweh alone as the true and effective ruler over all creation, both natural and political, fostering hope in a God who would ultimately deliver His people.