🕊️WEB · Isaiah 40:23
What does Isaiah 40:23 mean?
"who brings princes to nothing; who makes the judges of the earth like meaningless."
— Isaiah 40:23 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up a carved image for him that will not be moved.
Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing; who makes the judges of the earth like meaningless.
They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.
“To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, Not one is lacking.
Explanation
Isaiah 40:23 declares that God "brings princes to nothing" and "makes the judges of the earth like meaningless" — in plain language, this means that no human ruler, no matter how powerful or exalted, stands beyond God's control. Kings, governors, and judges who wield authority over nations and peoples are, before God, reduced to nothing. Their power, status, and influence are temporary and utterly dependent on him; he can dismiss them as easily as brushing away dust.
The book of Isaiah was written by the prophet Isaiah, largely addressed to the people of Judah, with this section (chapters 40-55) specifically speaking comfort and hope to Israelites facing or enduring Babylonian exile. This was a devastating experience: their nation had been crushed by a foreign superpower, their king dethroned, their temple destroyed, and pagan rulers now controlled their fate. In that context, verse 23 sits within a larger passage (Isaiah 40:21-24) that asks rhetorically whether the people have forgotten who God is. Isaiah reminds them that the very empires and rulers who seem to hold absolute power — the Babylonian kings who
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