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Read the Bible
Brenton's Septuagint
Isaiah 42:3
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalDevotionals:
- DailyParallel Translations
He will not break a bruised reed,and he will not put out a smoldering wick;he will faithfully bring justice.
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
"A bent reed He will not break off And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not break a crushed blade of grass or put out even a weak flame. He will truly bring justice;
"A broken reed He will not break [off] And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish [He will not harm those who are weak and suffering]; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
A bruised reede shall hee not breake, and the smoking flaxe shall he not quench: he shall bring foorth iudgement in trueth.
A crushed reed He will not breakAnd a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish;He will bring forth justice in truth.
A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
He won't break off a bent reed or put out a dying flame, but he will make sure that justice is done.
He will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick. He will bring forth justice according to truth;
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment according to truth.
He will not break even a crushed reed. He will not put out even the weakest flame. He will bring true justice.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and a flickering lamp he shall not extinguish; he shall truly bring forth judgment.
He will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp. He will bring lasting justice to all.
He will not break a broken reed, and he not will extinguish a dim wick. He will bring justice forth in faithfulness.
A bruised reed He shall not break, and a smoking wick He shall not quench; He shall bring forth justice to truth.
A brussedrede shal he not breake, & the smokinge flax shal he not quench: but faithfully & truly shal he geue iudgmet.
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
He will not let a crushed stem be quite broken, and he will not let a feebly burning light be put out: he will go on sending out the true word to the peoples.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the dimly burning wick shall he not quench; he shall make the right to go forth according to the truth.
A bruised reed shall he not breake, and the smoking flaxe shall hee not quench: he shall bring forth iudgment vnto trueth.
And a broosed reede shall he not breake, and the smoking flaxe shall he not quench: but faythfully and truely shall he geue iudgement.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment in truth.
He schal not breke a schakun rehed, and he schal not quenche smokynge flax; he schal brynge out doom in treuthe.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
A crushed reed he will not break, a dim wick he will not extinguish; he will faithfully make just decrees.
A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.
He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
He will not break a broken branch or put out a little fire. He will be faithful to make everything fair.
a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
Cane that is crushed, will he not break, And wick that is fading, will he not quench, - Faithfully, will he bring forth justice:
The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
A bruised reed he breaketh not, And dim flax he quencheth not, To truth he bringeth forth judgment.
"A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
bruised: Isaiah 35:3, Isaiah 35:4, Isaiah 40:11, Isaiah 40:29-31, Isaiah 50:4, Isaiah 50:10, Isaiah 57:15-18, Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah 66:2, Psalms 103:13, Psalms 103:14, Psalms 147:3, Jeremiah 30:12-17, Jeremiah 31:18-20, Jeremiah 31:25, Ezekiel 34:16, Matthew 11:28, Matthew 18:11-14, Luke 22:31, Luke 22:32, John 20:19-21, John 20:27, Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 2:18
smoking: or, dimly burning
quench: Heb. quench it
he shall: Isaiah 11:3, Isaiah 11:4, Psalms 72:2-4, Psalms 96:13, Psalms 98:9, Micah 7:9, John 5:30, Revelation 19:11
Reciprocal: Genesis 49:10 - the gathering Leviticus 13:6 - pronounce Job 34:23 - he will Zephaniah 3:5 - bring Matthew 12:20 - till Mark 4:40 - Why Luke 4:18 - bruised John 6:37 - I will John 7:10 - not John 10:36 - whom Romans 14:1 - weak 2 Corinthians 10:1 - by
Cross-References
And the sons of Israel came to buy with those that came, for the famine was in the land of Chanaan.
And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, in the land of Chanaan; and, behold, the youngest is with our father to-day, but the other one is not.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
A bruised reed shall not break,.... The tenderness of Christ to weak and ignorant persons is here and in the next clause expressed; by whom young converts or weak believers seem to be designed; who are compared to a "reed", because worthless with respect to God, whom they cannot profit; and in the view of men, who reckon them as nothing; and in themselves, and in their own view, who judge themselves unworthy of the least of mercies; and because they are weak, not only as all men are, of which weakness they are sensible; but they are weak in grace, especially in faith, and have but little hope, their love is the strongest; and because they are wavering like the reed, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, and shaken with the temptations of Satan, and disturbed with many doubts and fears; and are like a "bruised" reed that is squeezed, and almost broke to pieces, and so of no use; these are broken in heart, under a sense of sin and unworthiness; whose spirits are bruised and wounded with it, and whose hearts are contrite on account of it. On these Christ does not lay his iron rod, but holds out the golden sceptre of his grace to them; he does not call them to service and sufferings beyond their strength; but strengthens, supports, and upholds them with the right hand of his righteousness; he binds up their broken hearts, having poured in the balm of Gilead, his own blood, and the wine and oil of his love; he encourages them in their application to him for salvation, and manifests his pardoning grace, and restores comforts to them, and revives their souls:
and the smoking flax shall he not quench; or, "the wick of a candle; h" which just going out, has some heat, a little light, smokes, and is offensive; so the persons intended by it are fired or lighted by the divine word; have some heat of affection in them to spiritual things, but have but little light; into the corruption of nature into the glories of Christ's person; into the doctrines of the Gospel; into the everlasting love of God, and the covenant of grace; and but little light of joy and comfort, and this almost gone, and seemingly ready to go out; and yet Christ will not extinguish it, or suffer it to be extinct; he does not discourage small beginnings of grace, or despise the day of small things; he blows up their light into a flame; he increases their spiritual light and knowledge; supplies them with the oil of grace; trims, snuffs, and causes their lamps to burn brighter. The Targum is,
"the meek, who are like to a bruised reed, shall not be broken; and the poor, who are as obscure as flax (or a lamp ready to go out), shall not be extinct:''
he shall bring forth judgment unto truth; which some understand of Christ's severity to wicked men, in opposition to his tenderness to his own people; see Isaiah 11:4, others of the Gospel, as preached by him in truth, as in Isaiah 42:1, but rather it designs the power of his Spirit and grace accompanying the word, to the carrying on of his own work in the hearts of his people; which, though attended with many difficulties and discouragements, shall go on, and be performed; grace will break through all obstructions, and prove victorious at last; see Matthew 12:20.
h פשתה כהה "ellychnium fumigans", Junius Tremellius "fumans", Piscator.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
A bruised reed - The word ‘reed’ means the cane or calamus which grows up in marshy or wet places (Isaiah 36:6; see the note at Isaiah 43:24). The word, therefore, literally denotes that which is fragile, weak, easily waved by the wind, or broken down; and stands in contrast with a lofty and firm tree (compare Matthew 11:7): ‘What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?’ The word here, therefore, may be applied to people who are conscious of feebleness and sin; that are moved and broken by calamity; that feel that they have no strength to bear up against the ills of life. The word ‘bruised’ (רצוּץ râtsûts) means that which is broken or crushed, but not entirely broken off. As used here, it may denote those who are in themselves naturally feeble, and who have been crushed or broken down by a sense of sin, by calamity, or by affliction. We speak familiarly of crushing or breaking down by trials; and the phrase here is intensive and emphatic, denoting those who are at best like a reed - feeble and fragile; and who, in addition to that, have been broken and oppressed by a sense of their sins, or by calamity.
Shall he not break - Shall he not break off. He will not carry on the work of destruction, and entirely crush or break it. And the idea is, that he will not make those already broken down with a sense of sin and with calamity, more wretched. He will not deepen their afflictions, or augment their trials, or multiply their sorrows. The sense is, that he will have an affectionate regard for the broken-hearted, the humble, the penitent, and the afflicted. Luther has well expressed this: ‘He does not cast away, nor crush, nor condemn the wounded in conscience, those who are terrified in view of their sins; the weak in faith and practice, but watches over and cherishes them, makes them whole, and affectionately embraces them.’ The expression is parallel to that which occurs in Isaiah 61:1, where it is said of the Messiah, ‘He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted;’ and to the declaration in Isaiah 50:4, where it is said, ‘that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.’
The smoking flax - The word used here denotes flax, and then a wick that is made of it. The word rendered ‘smoking’ (כהה kēhâh) means that which is weak, small, thin, feeble; then that which is just ready to go out, or to be extinguished; and the phrase refers literally to the expiring wick of a lamp, when the oil is almost consumed, and when it shines with a feeble and dying luster. It may denote here the condition of one who is feeble and disheartened, and whose love to God seems almost ready to expire. And the promise that he will not extinguish or quench that, means that he would cherish, feed, and cultivate it; he would supply it with grace, as with oil to cherish the dying flame, and cause it to be enkindled, and to rise with a high and steady brilliancy. The whole passage is descriptive of the Redeemer, who nourishes the most feeble piety in the hearts of his people, and who will not suffer true religion in the soul ever to become wholly extinct. It may seem as if the slightest breath of misfortune or opposition would extinguish it forever; it may be like the dying flame that hangs on the point of the wick, but if there be true religion it will not be extinguished, but will be enkindled to a pure and glowing flame, and it will yet rise high, and burn brightly.
He shall bring forth judgment - (See Isaiah 42:1). The word ‘judgment’ here evidently denotes the true religion; the laws, institutions, and appointments of God.
Unto truth - Matthew Matthew 12:29 renders this, ‘unto victory.’ The meaning in Isaiah is, that he shall establish his religion according to truth; he shall faithfully announce the true precepts of religion, and secure their ascendency among mankind. It shall overcome all falsehood, and all idolatry, and shall obtain a final triumph in all nations. Thus explained, it is clear that Matthew has retained the general idea of the passage, though he has not quoted it literally.
