He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
Parallel translations
- WEB who brings princes to nothing; who makes the judges of the earth like meaningless.
- KJV That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
- NKJV He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
- NASB It is He who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
- NLT He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God reduces princes to nothing and renders the world's rulers meaningless.
Overview
The Sovereign who sits above the earth holds absolute power over its rulers, bringing the mighty to nothing. No human authority is secure apart from Him. This assures God's people that oppressive powers will not stand against His purposes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 12:21He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
- Ps 107:40He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
- Jer 25:18–27to 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;
- Isa 34:12No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing.
- Isa 19:13–14The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.
- Isa 23:9The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.
- Job 34:19–20who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
- Luke 1:51–52He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
- Ps 76:12He breaks the spirits of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.
- Isa 24:21–22In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.
- Rev 19:18–20so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of everyone slave and free, small and great.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 40:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.