Isaiah 40:23

“That bringeth princes to nothing, &c.] 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.”

“(Psa 107:4; Dan 2:21). judges--that is, rulers; for these exercised judicial authority (Psa 2:10). The Hebrew, shophtee, answers to the Carthaginian chief magistrates, suffetes.”

“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…”

“40:23 great people: God is unimpressed by human power and fame.”

“Isa 19:13, Isa 19:14, Isa 23:9, Isa 24:21, Isa 24:22; Job 12:21, Job 34:19, Job 34:20; Psa 76:12, Psa 107:40; Jer 25:18-27; Luk 1:51, Luk 1:52; Rev 19:18-20 Isaiah 40:24”

“This is followed by a series of predicates of God the Ruler of the universe. "He who giveth up rulers to annihilation; maketh judges of the earth like a desolation. They are hardly planted, hardly sown, their stem has hardly taken root in the earth, and He only blows upon them, and they dry up, and the storm carries them away like stubble." There is nothing so high and inaccessible in the world, that He cannot bring it to nothing, even in the midst of its most self-confident and threatening exaltation. Rōzenı̄m are solemn persons, σεμνοί, possessors of the greatest distinction and influence; shōphelı̄m, those who combine in themselves the highest judicial and administrative power. The…”