Isaiah 42:3

A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

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

ASV

A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.

YLT

A bruised reed he breaketh not, And dim flax he quencheth not, To truth he bringeth forth judgment.

DBT

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

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Voices5

On this verse

The prophets, therefore, did not openly behold the actual face of God, but [they saw] the dispensations and the mysteries through which man should afterwards see God. As was also said to Elias: "Thou shalt go forth tomorrow, and stand in the presence of the Lord; and, behold, a wind great and strong, which shall rend the mountains, and break the rocks in pieces before the Lord.

Irenaeus· AGAINST HERESIES 4:20.10, 202patristic

Related commentary

A bruised reed shall not break,....

John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed

A bruised reed - The word reed means the cane or calamus which grows up in marshy or wet places (Isa 36:6; see the note at Isa 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 Mat 11:7): What went ye out into the wilderness to see?

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

Isa 42:13, 14, here, and Mt 12:32, 36, 41, 42, show that there is reference to the judicial aspect of the Gospel, especially finally: besides the mild triumph of Jesus coming in mercy to the penitent now (Isa 42:2), there shall be finally the judgment on His enemies, when the "truth" shall be perfectly developed.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed

He shall have no trumpet sounded before him, nor any noisy retinue to follow him. The opposition he meets with he shall not strive against, but patiently endure the contradiction of sinners against himself. His kingdom is spiritual, and therefore its weapons are not carnal, nor is its appearance pompous; it comes not with observation.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

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Cross-references

39 linked verses

The verses this one reaches12

Ezekiel 34:16
I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’
Jeremiah 31:25
for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”
Matthew 12:20
A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.
Psalms 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Isaiah 11:3–4
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear,
John 5:30
I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
Revelation 19:11
Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.
Matthew 18:10–14
See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
John 20:19–21
It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them.
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

27 more linked verses are grouped by book below ↓

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Around this verse

Word doors

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

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About this book

The Prophet Isaiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Isaiah — The gospel prophet — a Judean court-prophet across Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (c. 740–700 BC) who sees past Assyria to Babylon and past Babylon to the Messiah. Sixty-six chapters divided into the Book of Judgment (1–39) and the Book of Comfort (40–66), climaxing in the Servant wounded for our transgressions.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Isaiah ben Amoz — Heb. Yəša'yāhû, 'Yahweh saves' (1:1); Jewish tradition (b. Megillah 10b; b. Yevamot 49b) holds he was of royal blood and was martyred 'sawn asunder' under Manasseh — a tradition, not Scripture
Date: Ministry c. 740–700 BC — call 'in the year that king Uzziah died' (6:1) through Sennacherib's 701 BC siege of Jerusalem (36–37); spanning the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1)

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
leads to
- Matthew 11:29
  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
- John 7:37
  On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- John 6:37
  Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
- Galatians 5:1
  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
- Isaiah 55:1–3
  “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
Through
Psalms 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
leads to
- Psalms 34:18
  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
- Job 5:18
  For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
- Jeremiah 33:6
  Nevertheless, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal its people and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

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