Isaiah 42:3

Isaiah 42:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
• New International Version (NIV)A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
• English Standard Version (ESV)a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
• New King James Version (NKJV)A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.

Context of Isaiah 42:3

1“Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations. 2He will not cry out or shout; he will not publicize himself in the streets. A crushed reed he will not break, a dim wick he will not extinguish; he will faithfully make just decrees. 4He will not grow dim or be crushed before establishing justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” 5This is what the true God, the Lord, says – the one who created the sky and stretched it out, the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it:

Isaiah 42:3 word by word

קָנֶ֤ה רָצוּץ֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁבּ֔וֹר וּפִשְׁתָּ֥ה כֵהָ֖ה לֹ֣א יְכַבֶּ֑נָּה לֶאֱמֶ֖ת יוֹצִ֥יא מִשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A bruisedרָצַץrâtsats · to crushH7533
• reedקָנֶהqâneh · branch: stemH7070
• shall he not breakשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• and the smokingכֵּהֶהkêheh · faintH3544
• flaxפִּשְׁתָּהpishtâh · flaxH6594
• shall he not quenchכָּבָהkâbâh · to quenchH3518
• he shall bring forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: sendH3318
• judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• unto truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: faithfulH571

Cross-references for Isaiah 42:3

• Isaiah 35:3Strengthen the hands that have gone limp, steady the knees that shake!
• Isaiah 40:11Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along.
• Isaiah 50:4The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, so that I know how to help the weary. He wakes me up every morning; he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do.
• Isaiah 57:15For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy: “I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged.
• Isaiah 61:1The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners,
• Isaiah 66:2My hand made them; that is how they came to be,” says the Lord. I show special favor to the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say.
• Psalms 103:13As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.
• Psalms 147:3He heals the brokenhearted, and bandages their wounds.
• Jeremiah 30:12Moreover, the Lord says to the people of Zion, “Your injuries are incurable; your wounds are severe.
• Jeremiah 31:18I have indeed heard the people of Israel say mournfully, ‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. You disciplined us and we learned from it. Let us come back to you and we will do so, for you are the Lord our God.
• Ezekiel 34:16I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them – with judgment!
• Matthew 11:28Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
• Luke 22:31“Simon, Simon, pay attention! Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat,
• John 20:19On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
• Hebrews 2:17Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

Commentaries on Isaiah 42:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3A 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The royal servant will be gentle with the oppressed and discouraged (see Isaiah 3:15; 41:17).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. bruised--"It pleased the Lord to bruise Him" (Is 53:5, 10; Ge 3:15); so He can feel for the bruised. As Is 42:2 described His unturbulent spirit towards His violent enemies (Mt 12:14-16), and His utter freedom from love of notoriety, so Is 42:3, His tenderness in cherishing the first spark of grace in the penitent (Is 40:11). reed--fragile: easily "shaken with the wind" (Mt 11:7). Those who are at best feeble, and who besides are oppressed by calamity…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 42:3

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Backsliders
• Church
• Flax
• Gentiles
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Meekness
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Reed

In the dictionaries

• Ashamed
• Covenant
• Elect
• Isle
• Linen
• Prison
• Reed
• Servant
• Travailing
• Trust

Commentaries on Isaiah 42

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings