What Does Matthew 12:20 Mean?
A crushed reed he will not break, and a smoking wick he will not snuff out, until he sends judgment forth into victory.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.THE KEY
Here, victory comes through judgment that refuses to break what is bent or extinguish what is barely burning.
THE MEANING
The one who sees you does not finish off what is already bruised or snuff out what is barely alive. His discernment keeps moving toward victory while preserving the fragile life it meets.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that weakness makes you disposable, or that justice must crush the already wounded to prevail.
THE ROOT
κρίσιν
krisin
GROWS FROM
κρίνω
To distinguish, decide, or judge.
Κρίσις (krisis, judgment) grows from κρίνω (krinō, to distinguish or decide). Its branches include κριτής (kritēs, a judge) and κρίμα (krima, a decision or verdict): judgment carries discernment toward an outcome. Here that outcome is not complete until it reaches victory, and its path preserves the bruised and dimly burning.
ALSO GROWS
kritēs: Judge
κριτής
This branch names the one who discerns and decides; the verse shows that judgment in action protecting what is fragile.
krima: Decision or verdict
κρίμα
This branch names the outcome of judgment; here the outcome moves toward victory without first extinguishing the weak.
THE PATTERN
God’s justice advances by preserving the bruised and dimly burning until life reaches its intended end.
A crushed reed he will not break, and a dimming wick he will not snuff out. He will bring out judgment into truth.The LORD is near to those whose heart is broken, and delivers those crushed in breath.Pursued, but not left behind; thrown down, but not perishing.THE THREAD
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my living soul delights. I will put my breath upon him, and he will bring word of judgment to the nations.The same Greek word κρίσις (krisis, judgment) appears in both verses. Verse 18 names the work; verse 20 reveals its manner: judgment moves toward victory without crushing what is bruised or quenching what still burns.
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