Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who astretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a btent to dwell in.
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
aHe calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
| << Isaiah 40:22 | Isaiah 40:24 >> |
Isaiah 40:23
That bringeth the princes to nothing - That is, all princes and kings. No matter how great their power, their wealth, and their dignity, they are, by his hand, reduced to nothing before him. The design of this passage is to contrast the majesty of God with that of princes and nobles, and to show how far he excels them all. The general truth is therefore stated, that all monarchs are by him removed from their thrones, and consigned to nothing. The same idea is expressed in Job 12:21 :
He poureth contempt upon princes,
And weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
And in Psalms 107:40 :
He poureth contempt upon princes,
And causeth them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way.
The particular idea here, as appears from the next verse, is, that the princes and rulers who are opposed to God constitute no real resistance to the execution of his purposes. He can strip off their honors and glory, and obliterate even their names.
He maketh the judges of the earth - Kings and princes often executed judgment personally, and hence, the words judges and kings seem to be synonymous as they are used here, and in Psalms 2:10 :
Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings;
Be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 40:23:
Psalms 113:5
Amos 2:3
John 1:3
John 5:26
Acts 17:29
Romans 1:23
| << Isaiah 40:22 | Isaiah 40:24 >> |
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