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Psalm 107:40
He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
38He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
39Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.
42The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
Notice
Princes wandering in a trackless waste make a stark picture of God's judgment, unsettling the thought that high rank can keep anyone secure.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What changes when you picture these princes without a path, despite their rank?
Write on thisHow does God's lifting of the needy in the next verse shape your reading of this contempt?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Job 12:24He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.Both describe God causing leaders to wander where there is no way, stripping their rank of its apparent security.
Job 12:21He pours contempt on princes, and loosens the belt of the strong.Both use the same words about God pouring contempt on princes, showing human power subject to him.
Joshua 10:24When they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, “Come near. …Both depict rulers brought low, though Joshua describes a wartime humiliation carried out by men at his command.
Daniel 4:33This was fulfilled the same hour on Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; and his body was wet with the dew of the sky until his hair …Both depict a loss of status: the psalm's princes wander, while Nebuchadnezzar is driven from human company to live like an animal.
Isaiah 40:23who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.Both describe God bringing princes low, denying earthly rulers any lasting security in their position.
Numbers 14:33Your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your prostitution, until your dead bodies are consumed in the wilderness.Both describe wilderness wandering imposed in judgment, though Numbers concerns children bearing the consequences of their parents' conduct.
Isaiah 23:8–9Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth?Both concern those called princes facing a threat to their standing; Isaiah's supplied words ask who planned it against Tyre.
Daniel 4:24“This is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which has come on my lord the king:Both place royal power under God's authority: Daniel announces the Most High's decree, while the psalm describes God humbling princes.
Job 5:24You will know that your tent is in peace. You will visit your fold, and will miss nothing.The link is slight: Job describes a secure home, while the psalm describes princes wandering without a path.
Psalm 107:4They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in.Both describe wandering in desolate country, though verse 40 names princes and makes God the cause of their wandering.
1 Kings 21:19You shall speak to him, saying, ‘The LORD says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘The LORD says, “In the place …Both portray God's judgment; Kings announces bloodshed in response to killing and taking possession, while the psalm describes contempt and wandering.
Deuteronomy 32:10He found him in a desert land, in the waste howling wilderness. He surrounded him. He cared for him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.Both describe God's action in a wilderness setting, with care and protection in Deuteronomy contrasting with imposed wandering in the psalm.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. leadership weight. fear for the future.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The contempt here belongs to God's judgment; it gives no license for cruelty. Even the highest human rank offers no shelter from his rule.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).