Isaiah 42:3
ESV
a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
NIV
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
NASB
A bent reed He will not break off And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
CSB
He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick; he will faithfully bring justice.
NLT
He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
KJV
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
NKJV
A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.
What does Isaiah 42:3 mean?
Isaiah's song from the Lord is describing a prophetic figure in whom the Lord delights. This Servant will bear the Spirit of God and will bring justice to the nations. But this God-empowered figure will not rule through threats or grand displays of power. In fact, the Servant (Isaiah 42:1–2) will be associated with controlled, measured use of His strength. The most fragile things are safe in His hands.The idea here is not that the Servant will be so peace-oriented that He will be passive in the face of evil. Rather, the faintly burning wick and bruised reed symbolize the poor and needy on the earth. They just barely survive with limited prospects for improvement. This future ruler of nations will simply march a bloody trail through the kings of the earth. The Servant will bring justice and peace to these hurting people and restore them to strength and health.
This is exactly what Jesus came to do as the Messiah. He described this in the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:2–11).
