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Mat 12:18. Ἰδοὺ ὁ Παῖς Μου, ὃν ᾑρέτισα· ὁ ἀγαπητός Μου, εἰς ὃν εὐδόκησεν ἡ ψυχή Μου· θήσω τὸ πνεῦμά Μου ἐπʼ Αὐτὸν, καὶ κρίσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀπαγγελεῖ· οὐκ ἐρίσει οὐδὲ κραυγάσει, οὐδὲ ἀκούσει τὶς ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις τὴν φωνὴν Αὐτοῦ· κάλαμον συντετριμμένον οὐ κατεάξει, καὶ λίνον τυφόμενον οὐ σβέσει· ἓως ἂν ἐκβάλῃ εἰς νῖκος τὴν κρίσιν· καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Αὐτοῦ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσι,-Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen; My Beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall announce judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory. And, in His name shall the Gentiles trust. The LXX. thus render Isa 42:1-4,-Ἰακὼβ ὁ παῖς Μου, ἀντιλήψομαι αὖτοῦ· Ἰσραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός Μου, προσεδέξατο αὐτὸν ἡ ψυχή Μου, ἔδωκα τὸ πνεῦμά Μου ἐπʼ αὐτὸν, κρίσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐξοίσει· οὐ κράξεται, οὐδὲ ἀνήσει, οὐδὲ ἀκουσθήσεται ἔξω ἡ φωνὴ αὐτοῦ· κάλαμον συντεθλασμένον οὐ συντρίψει, καὶ λίνον καπνιζόμενον οὐ σβέσει, ἀλλὰ εἰς ἀλήθειαν ἐξοίσει κρίσιν, κ.τ.λ.[559] Jacob is My servant; I will defend him. Israel is my chosen; My soul has accepted him: I have given my Spirit upon him; he shall bear forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up [his voice]; nor shall his voice be heard without. A bruised reed shall he not crush, and smoking flax shall he not quench; but he shall bear forth judgment unto truth.-ὁ παῖς μου, my servant = the Hebrew עבדי,[560] in Isa 42:1. And the LXX. frequently express that Hebrew word[561] by παῖς,[562] e.g. where Moses, or even the Messiah, is spoken of. Cf. Act 3:13; Act 3:26; Act 4:27; Act 4:30. For it is not again repeated in the New Testament concerning the Messiah, either because neither the Greek παῖς, or any other word, corresponds sufficiently to that Hebrew word, which the apostles also used in the beginning, or else because neither of them is suitable to our Lord’s state of glorification. The words, servant and beloved, are parallel; and also, I have chosen, and I am well pleased.-ᾑρέτισα, I have chosen-αἱρετίζειν = αἱρετὸν ὁρίζειν, to set apart as chosen.-εἰς ὅν, towards whom) The preposition εἰς denotes the perpetual tendency of the Father’s mind towards His Beloved [Son]. See 2Pe 1:17.-κρίσιν, judgment) salutary to men. See Mat 12:20, and Joh 16:11.-κρίσις, judgment, is the separation of sin and righteousness.-τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, to the Gentiles) when He shall have departed from the Jews.-ἀπαγγελεῖ, He shall announce) He both performed and announced it. The future tense is employed here; but the past afterwards by St Paul, Eph 2:17 [with reference to the same matter].
[559] In E. V. it stands thus-“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.”-(I. B.)
[560] Sc. עבד servant, with the pronominal suffix י, my.-(I. B.)
[561] עֶבֶד, i.e. a servant: the minister or ambassador sent by God for accomplishing some service: also a familiar servant chosen and beloved of God on account of his piety and approved fidelity; also a term especially applied to the Messiah. See GESENIUS, etc.-(I. B.)
[562] παῖς. According to Schleusner, (1) a child in age; (2) a child in relation to its parents; (3) one pre-eminently beloved; (4) a servant; (5) the minister of a king, etc. According to Liddel and Scott, (1) a child in relation to its parents; (2) a child in age; (3) a servant. The passages, however, in these writers are too long for insertion, and cannot be adequately abridged.-(I. B.)