以赛亚书 40:23

Chinese NCV (Simplified)

他使諸侯都歸於無有，使地上的審判官成為虛空。

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
他 使 君 王 归 於 虚 无 ， 使 地 上 的 审 判 官 成 为 虚 空 。

Contextual Overview

¹⁸ Can you compare God to anything? Can you compare him to an image of anything? ¹⁹ An idol is formed by a craftsman, and a goldsmith covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it. ²⁰ A poor person cannot buy those expensive statues, so he finds a tree that will not rot. Then he finds a skilled craftsman to make it into an idol that will not fall over. ²¹ Surely you know. Surely you have heard. Surely from the beginning someone told you. Surely you understand how the earth was created. ²² God sits on his throne above the circle of the earth, and compared to him, people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the skies like a piece of cloth and spreads them out like a tent to sit under. ²³ He makes rulers unimportant and the judges of this world worth nothing. ²⁴ They are like plants that are placed in the ground, like seeds that are planted. As soon as they begin to grow strong, he blows on them and they die, and the wind blows them away like chaff. ²⁵ God, the Holy One, says, "Can you compare me to anyone? Is anyone equal to me?" ²⁶ Look up to the skies. Who created all these stars? He leads out the army of heaven one by one and calls all the stars by name. Because he is strong and powerful, not one of them is missing.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Isaiah 19:13, Isaiah 19:14, Isaiah 23:9, Isaiah 24:21, Isaiah 24:22, Job 12:21, Job 34:19, Job 34:20, Psalms 76:12, Psalms 107:40, Jeremiah 25:18-27, Luke 1:51, Luke 1:52, Revelation 19:18-20

Reciprocal: Job 21:22 - he judgeth Job 35:5 - Look Jeremiah 10:24 - lest 1 Corinthians 2:6 - of the

Cross-References

Genesis 40:15
I was taken by force from the land of the Hebrews, and I have done nothing here to deserve being put in prison."

Genesis 40:16
The baker saw that Joseph's explanation of the dream was good, so he said to him, "I also had a dream. I dreamed there were three bread baskets on my head.

Job 19:14
My relatives have gone away, and my friends have forgotten me.

Psalms 31:12
I am like a piece of a broken pot. I am forgotten as if I were dead.

Psalms 105:19
Then the time he had spoken of came, and the Lord 's words proved that Joseph was right.

Amos 6:6
You drink wine by the bowlful and use the best perfumed lotions. But you are not sad over the ruin of Israel,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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.