Bible Strands
Isaiah 40:23
He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Israel regarding Yahweh’s sovereign action against earthly authorities. This declaration follows the description of God enthroned above the earth and precedes the image of rulers withering like stubble.
The words — The Hebrew phrase רוֹזְנִים לְאָיִן (roz.Nim le.'A.yin) literally means "rulers to nothing." The verb עָשָׂה ('a.Sah) in the clause כַּתּוֹהוּ עָשָׂה (ka.To.hu 'a.Sah) renders as "he makes like nothingness."
The thread — This theme of God reducing earthly leaders to insignificance appears in Job 12:21 and Psalm 107:40, where He pours contempt on nobles. Isaiah 34:12 similarly records that no nobles will remain to proclaim a king.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human political power holds no independent stability before divine sovereignty. It requires readers to evaluate earthly authority against God’s absolute control rather than assuming its permanence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Cross-references
- Job 12:21 He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
- Psalms 107:40 He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
- Isaiah 34:12 No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing.
- Jeremiah 25:18 to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;
- Job 34:19 who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
- Psalms 76:12 He breaks the spirits of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.
- Isaiah 19:13 The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.
- Isaiah 23:9 The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.
- Isaiah 24:21 In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.
- Luke 1:51 He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.