Isaiah 19:6

19:6 The canals will stink;

the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;

the bulrushes and reeds will decay,

Isaiah 42:3

42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,

a dim wick he will not extinguish;

he will faithfully make just decrees.


tn Heb “rivers” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, CEV “streams”; TEV “channels.”

tn The verb form appears as a Hiphil in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa; the form in MT may be a so-called “mixed form,” reflecting the Hebrew Hiphil stem and the functionally corresponding Aramaic Aphel stem. See HALOT 276 s.v. I זנח.

sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.

tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).