Discovery BoxMatthew 12:15-21 
Context12:15 Now when Jesus learned of this, he went away from there. Great 1 crowds 2 followed him, and he healed them all. 12:16 But he sternly warned them not to make him known. 12:17 This fulfilled what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet: 3
12:18 “Here is 4 my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I take great delight. 5
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
12:19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
12:20 He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick,
until he brings justice to victory.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
2 tc א B pc lat read only πολλοί (polloi, “many”) here, the first hand of N reads ὄχλοι (ocloi, “crowds”), while virtually all the rest of the witnesses have ὄχλοι πολλοί (ocloi 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 probably due to homoioteleuton.
3 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 tn Grk “Behold my servant.”
5 tn Grk “in whom my soul is well pleased.”
6 tn Or “the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
7 sn Verses 18-21 are a quotation from Isa 42:1-4.
