Isaiah 42:3

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
bruised	רָצוּץ֙ ra.Tzutz	H7533	to crack in pieces · verb, qal passive participle, masculine singular absolute
reed	קָנֶ֤ה ka.Neh	H7070	a reed (as erect) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
break	יִשְׁבּ֔וֹר yish.Bor	H7665	to burst (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
smoking	כֵהָ֖ה khe.Hah	H3544	feeble · adjective, feminine singular absolute
flax	וּפִשְׁתָּ֥ה u.fish.Tah	H6594	flax · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
quench	יְכַבֶּ֑נָּה ye.khab.Be.nah	H3518	to expire or (causatively) to extinguish (fire · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
forth	יוֹצִ֥יא yo.Tzi'	H3318	to go (causatively · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
judgment	מִשְׁפָּֽט mish.Pat	H4941	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
truth	לֶאֱמֶ֖ת le.'e.Met	H571	stability · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ezekiel 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen tha…
Jeremiah 31:25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
Psalms 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those th…
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Isaiah 11:3-4 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after…
John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father…
Matthew 18:10-14 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Fath…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 42:1-4

We are sure that these verses are to be understood of Christ, for the evangelist tells us expressly that in him this prophecy was fulfilled, Mat 12:17-21. Behold with an eye of faith, behold and observe, behold and admire, my servant, whom I uphold. Let the Old Testament saints behold and remember him. Now what must we behold and consider concerning him? I. The Father's concern for him and relation to him, the confidence he put and the complacency he took in him. This put an honour upon him, and made him remarkable, above any other circumstance, Isa 42:1. 1. God owns him as one employed for him: He is my servant. Though he was a Son, yet, as a Mediator, he took upon him the form of a servant…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 42:3

bruised--"It pleased the Lord to bruise Him" (Isa 53:5, Isa 53:10; Gen 3:15); so He can feel for the bruised. As Isa 42:2 described His unturbulent spirit towards His violent enemies (Mat 12:14-16), and His utter freedom from love of notoriety, so Isa 42:3, His tenderness in cherishing the first spark of grace in the penitent (Isa 40:11). reed--fragile: easily "shaken with the wind" (Mat 11:7). Those who are at best feeble, and who besides are oppressed by calamity or by the sense of sin. break--entirely crush or condemn. Compare "bind up the broken-hearted" (Isa 50:4; Isa 61:1; Mat 11:28). flax--put for the lamp-wick, formed of flax. The believer is the lamp (so the Greek, Mat 5:15; J…

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John Gill on Isaiah 42:3

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 ev…

The Church Fathers

[The abbot] must be aware of his own frailty and remember that it is forbidden to break the already bruised reed. We do not mean that he should countenance the growth of vice but that he use discretion and tenderness as he sees it expedient for the different characters of his brothers. He is to endeavor much more to be loved than to be feared.
— Benedict of Nursia, RULE OF ST. BENEDICT 64

For after the coming of the Lord and Savior, who gave the spirit of the gospel interpretation, [Christ] rested in the death of the Jewish letter, with which all works are bruised. Christ did not snuff out the smoking wick, reducing it to ashes. Instead, he ignited a great flame from this little spark, a spark that had almost gone out. The result is that the whole earth was ablaze with the fire of the Lord and Savior.
— Jerome, LETTER 121.2

"A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench," that is, [Christ] will not be hard or angered with those who have a feeble spirit. He will not render powerless that strength that is left to them, but he will lead them back to virtue with kindness. [Isaiah] calls a "dimly burning wick" the one whose oil is finished and where there is no greasy matter left. This means, when the people are about to be extinguished because of the affliction of captivity, he will make them shine against their hope. This is clearly said with regard to Zerubbabel but is evidently accomplished by our Lord, the Savior.
— Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 42:3

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Covenant — A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a…
Linen — (1.) Heb., pishet, pishtah, denotes “flax,” of which linen is made (Isa. 19:9); wrought flax, i.e., “linen cloth”, Lev. 13:47, 48, 52, 59; Deut. 22:11. Flax was early cultivated in Egypt (Ex. 9:31),…
Reed — (1.) “Paper reeds” (Isa. 19:7; R.V., “reeds”). Heb. ‘aroth, properly green herbage growing in marshy places. (2.) Heb. kaneh (1 Kings 14:15; Job 40:21; Isa. 19:6), whence the Gr. kanna, a “cane,” a…
Compassion And Sympathy Of Christ, The · Manifested for the: Weak in faith — Manifested for the: Weak in faith
Flax · .Smoking flax not quenched — .Smoking flax not quenched
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Meekness · OF JESUS — OF JESUS
Prophecies Respecting Christ · His tenderness and compassion — His tenderness and compassion
Quotations And Allusions · with — with
Reed · .Of weakness — .Of weakness

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 42:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 42:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 42:3

John Gill on Isaiah 42:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 42:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 42:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 42:3

John Gill on Isaiah 42:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Isaiah 42:3

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 42:3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 42:3

Rashi on Isaiah 42:3