The Servant of the Lord

15 Jesus was aware of this and withdrew. Large crowds[a] followed him, and he healed them all.(A) 16 He warned them not to make him known,(B) 17 so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

18 Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.(C)
19 He will not argue or shout,
and no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 He will not break a bruised reed,
and he will not put out a smoldering wick,
until he has led justice to victory.[b]
21 The nations will put their hope in his name.[c](D)

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Footnotes

  1. 12:15 Other mss read Many
  2. 12:20 Or until he has successfully put forth justice
  3. 12:18–21 Is 42:1–4

God’s Special Servant

15 Now when Jesus learned of this, he went away from there. Great[a] crowds[b] followed him, and he healed them all. 16 But he sternly warned them not to make him known. 17 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:[c]

18 Here is[d] my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I take great delight.[e]
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick,
until he brings justice to victory.
21 And in his name the Gentiles[f] will hope.”[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 12:15 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  2. Matthew 12:15 tc א B lat read only πολλοί (polloi, “many”) here, the first hand of N reads ὄχλοι (ochloi, “crowds”), while virtually all the rest of the witnesses have ὄχλοι πολλοί (ochloi polloi, “great crowds”). In spite of the good quality of both א and B (especially in combination), and the testimony of the Latin witnesses, the longer reading is most likely correct; the shorter readings were likely due to homoioteleuton. NA28 puts ὄχλοι in brackets, indicating the difficulty in choosing on reading over the other.
  3. Matthew 12:17 tn Grk “so that what was said by Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying.” This final clause, however, is part of one sentence in Greek (vv. 15b-17) and is thus not related only to v. 16. The participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant and has not been translated.
  4. Matthew 12:18 tn Grk “Behold my servant.”
  5. Matthew 12:18 tn Grk “in whom my soul is well pleased.”
  6. Matthew 12:21 tn Or “the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
  7. Matthew 12:21 sn Verses 18-21 are a quotation from Isa 42:1-4.