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"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel
(God with us) . . . . . a Child is born . . . . . His name shall be . . . . . the Mighty God . . ."
(Isa. 7: 14; 9: 6).
The word translated "servant" is the Hebrew ebed, and although it may not be capable
of proof, the idea is at least suggestive that the Latin obedio and the English obedience
are derived from the same root. Abad, the verb, means "to labour", and, in certain forms,
"to till" (Gen. 2: 5); "to dress" (Gen. 2: 15). To be destined to become "A servant of
servants" was to be placed under a curse (Gen. 9: 25).
Of this "Servant" the Lord said: "Whom I uphold; Mine elect, in Whom My soul
delighteth: I have put My spirit upon Him" (Isa. 42: 1). A reference to Matt. 12: 18-21
shows beyond a shadow of doubt that the "Servant" of Isa. 42: is the Lord Jesus Christ,
but upon reading Matthew's quotation of Isa. 42: 1-4, certain changes are observable
which demand attention before we can proceed.
To economize space we will not print the passage in full as it occurs in the A.V. of
Isaiah, the Greek of the Septuagint and of Matthew, but bring out the divergences by the
following analysis:
Isaiah 42: 1-4.
Isaiah 42: 1-4.
Matthew 12: 18-21.
(Hebrew).
(Greek).
(Greek).
"Behold My servant, Whom
"Behold
My
servant;
"Jacob is My servant, I will
I uphold; mine elect in
Whom I have chosen; My
help him; Israel is mine
Whom my soul delighteth."
beloved, in Whom my soul
elect, my soul has accepted
is well pleased."
him."
"Smoking flax shall He not
"Smoking flax shall He not
"Smoking flax shall He not
quench;
He shall bring
quench, till He send forth
quench; but He shall bring
forth judgment unto truth."
judgment unto victory."
forth judgment unto truth."
"The isles shall wait for His
"And in His name shall the
"And in His name shall the
law."
Gentiles trust."
Gentiles trust."
The careful reader will discover a number of other, minor, differences in these three
presentations, but in the present study those cited are all that need be considered.
Seeing that both names have already occurred in connection with the title "servant" in
the preceding chapter, the introduction of the names "Jacob" and "Israel" into the
Septuagint version of Isa. 42: 1 was perhaps natural, but the testimony of Matthew and
the general trend of the prophecy of Isaiah leave no room for doubt but that the Messiah
alone is intended in the passage before us.
The second passage cited is of a different nature and not so easily disposed of. Isaiah
says "He shall bring forth judgment unto TRUTH", a translation followed by the
Septuagint. Matthew however departs from this and uses the word "victory" instead of
"truth".
Jenour has a note saying, "All translators, misled by the Septuagint, render the passage
something in the same manner as in our English Bibles", and he would render the