Isaiah 40:23 BSB — MannaFest

Isaiah 40:23

He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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

KJV

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

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Commentary

2 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah (420)

(Vers. 21 seqq.) Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been announced to you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth? He sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like locusts. He spreads out the heavens like nothing, and expands them as a tent to dwell in. He makes secret things known as if they were not. He has made the rulers of the earth as nothing. They are not planted, nor are they sown, nor do their roots take hold in the earth.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

That bringeth princes to nothing,.... The great men of the earth, kings, rulers, and nobles, these he brings to the dust; and all their counsels, schemes, and purposes, come to nothing; and their monarchies and kingdoms too in time. Where are now the Babylonish, Persian, and Grecian monarchies, and those great princes that formerly reigned in them? he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity; their decrees and decisions to stand for nothing, as "tohu" and "bohu", the first of which words is used here; so that they are no more regarded and attended to.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

7 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
הַנּוֹתֵ֥ן	ha.no.Ten	the [one who] appoints	H5414 →
רוֹזְנִ֖ים	roz.Nim	rulers	H7336 →
לְאָ֑יִן	le.'A.yin	to nothing	H369 →
שֹׁ֥פְטֵי	Sho.fe.tei	judges of	H8199 →
אֶ֖רֶץ	'E.retz	[the] earth	H776 →
כַּתֹּ֥הוּ	ka.To.hu	like <the> nothingness	H8414 →
עָשָֽׂה׃	'a.Sah	he makes	H6213 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Psalms 107:40
He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
leads to
- Job 12:24
  He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
- Job 12:21
  He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
- Daniel 4:33
  At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair…
Through
Psalms 76:12
He breaks the spirits of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.
leads to
- Zephaniah 3:6
  “I have cut off the nations; their corner towers are destroyed. I have made their streets deserted with no one to pass through. Their cities are laid waste, with no man, no inhabitant.
- Psalms 68:12
  “Kings and their armies flee in haste; she who waits at home divides the plunder.
- Isaiah 13:6–8
  Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Psalms 2:5
  Then He rebukes them in His anger, and terrifies them in His fury:
Through
Job 12:21
He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
leads to
- Psalms 107:40
  He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

Featured studies on this passage

On Isaiah 40:23

The Exodus — Redemption's Master-Type

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Walks through Isaiah 40

Mazzaroth

Twelve constellation groupings; one biblical word (Job 38:32). Bullinger and Seiss read them as a gospel-arc; modern critics trace their figures to Albumazar, not Adam. The objections below are presented at full strength, and the founder's own slot on the page is his to fill.

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Walks through Isaiah 40

Names of God

God reveals himself by name. Each name given in a specific historical moment, in response to a specific situation. Twenty-eight names along a revelation timeline — from Elohim at creation to YHWH-Shammah at the restored city — closing with Jesus' "I AM."

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Walks through Isaiah 40

The Flesh

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Walks through Isaiah 40

The Shepherd

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The Star of Bethlehem — Edward Burne-Jones

Walks through Isaiah 40

The Stars

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About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Isaiah: the study guide →Read chapter 40 →The featured study →

Continue: Isaiah 40 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Isaiah

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Isaiah