“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations.
Parallel Translations
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“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations.
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Beholde my chylde who I have chosen my beloved in who my soule deliteth. I wyll put my sprete on hym and he shall shewe iudgement to the gentyls.
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Behold my seruant whom I haue chosen, my beloued in whom my soule deliteth: I wil put my Spirit on him, and he shall shewe iudgement to the Gentiles.
Cross-references (39)
Passages linked to Matthew 12:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 42:1 “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
- Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,
- John 3:34 For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.
- Acts 10:38 even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
- Isaiah 61:1-3 The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified.
- Isaiah 11:2 Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.
- Isaiah 32:15-16 until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is considered a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness will remain in the fruitful field.
- Isaiah 49:5-6 Now Yahweh, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, says to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him, for I am honorable in Yahweh’s eyes, and my God has become my strength. Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”
- Isaiah 52:13 Behold, my servant will deal wisely. He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high.
- Matthew 3:16-17 Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
- Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
- Mark 9:7 A cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
- Luke 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
- Luke 9:35 A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”
- Acts 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life!”
- 1 Peter 2:4 coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.
- 2 Peter 1:17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- Psalms 89:19 Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, “I have given strength to the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people.
- Isaiah 49:1-3 Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: Yahweh has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name. He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. He has made me a polished shaft. He has kept me close in his quiver. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
- Isaiah 53:11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.
- Isaiah 59:20-21 “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says Yahweh. “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.”
- Isaiah 60:2-3 For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
- Isaiah 62:2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name, which Yahweh’s mouth will name.
- Jeremiah 16:19 Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and will say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.
- Zechariah 3:8 Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you; for they are men who are a sign: for, behold, I will bring out my servant, the Branch.
- Mark 1:11 A voice came out of the sky, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- Luke 2:31-32 which you have prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
- Luke 23:35 The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”
- John 1:32-34 John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
- Acts 13:46-48 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’ ” As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
- Acts 14:27 When they had arrived, and had gathered the assembly together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations.
- Acts 26:17-18 delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
- Romans 15:9-12 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.” Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.” Again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him.” Again, Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope.”
- Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved,
- Ephesians 2:11-13 Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision” (in the flesh, made by hands), that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.
- Ephesians 3:5-8 which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News, of which I was made a servant according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
- Philippians 2:6-7 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
- Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
- Colossians 1:13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain By judgment is meant a settled state because Christ…
By judgment is meant a settled state because Christ was to publish true religion among the Gentiles, and to cast out superstition, which thing wheresoever it is done, the Lord is said to reign and judge there, that is to say, to govern and rule matters.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my…
18 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 shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Ver. 18. Behold my servant] My servant the Messias, as the Chaldee Paraphrast renders and expounds it. The Septuagint somewhat obscure the text by adding to it, "Behold my servant Jacob, and mine elect Israel." They are said to have translated against their wills; no wonder then they deal not so faithfully. Sure it is, that they have perverted various clear prophecies concerning Christ; as this, for instance; which therefore our evangelist and the rest of the apostles allege not out of their translation but out of the Hebrew verity. The Latins drink of the puddles, the Greeks of the rivers, but the Hebrews of the fountains, said Johan. Reuchlin.
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Whom I have chosen, my beloved, &c.] Ecce electum, dilectum. The Latins have a proverb, Deligas quem diligas. Choose for thy love, and then love for thy choice. God hath also chosen us in the Beloved, Eph 1:6, that we should be the beloved of his soul, or as the Septuagint there emphatically render it, "his beloved soul," Jer 12:7; εδωκα την ηγαπημενην ψυχην μου, Dilectam animam meam, Vulgate.
And he shall show judgment] That is the doctrine of the gospel (whereby is conveyed into the heart that spirit of judgment and of burning, Isa 4:4), or the sweet effect of it, true grace, which is called judgment, a little below, Mat 12:20.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The alteration is very little, and we must not…
The alteration is very little, and we must not expect to meet with quotations out of the Old Testament verbatim: it is enough that the sense is the same.
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen. The word indifferently signifieth a child or a servant, Christ is called the Lord’s servant, because he took upon him the form of a servant, and became obedient even to death, Phi 2:7,8;
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Whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: in Isaiah it is, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. Matthew seems to have left out whom I uphold, and to have taken the next words, mine elect, and to have translated them, whom I have chosen, which was all said by the prophet. God chose the Lord Jesus Christ to be our Redeemer, and the Head of the elect; hence we are said to be chosen in him, Eph 1:4. Peter saith he was foreordained, 1Pe 1:20; 2:6, he is called a chief Cornerstone, elect. My beloved, in whom my soul
is well pleased: in Isaiah it is, in whom my soul delighteth: the sense is the same.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles, or to the nations. The words משׁפט, in the Hebrew, κρισις in the Greek, and judgment in the English, are all so variously used, as gives interpreters a great latitude to abound in their senses. The most probable to me is this: Judgment signifies a thing adjudged: all judgment is either of approbation or condemnation.
He shall bring forth, or he shall show, the things which God approveth and judgeth right, both in matters of doctrine, worship, and the government of the church of God, and in matters which concern the government of men’s lives and conversations: and to this end God promises to put his Spirit upon him, so Isa 11:2; 41:1; and John tells us it was not given him by measure, Joh 3:34, which is the same with being anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, Psa 45:7, which the apostle applies to Christ, Heb 1:9.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And all the people were amazed,.... At the cure;…
And all the people were amazed,.... At the cure; it was such an instance of divine power, and so glaring a proof, that the person who wrought it was more than a man, and must be the Messiah. This is to be understood of the greater part of the people, not of every individual, and of the common people only; for it had a different effect upon the Pharisees, as hereafter appears; but in these it not only produced admiration, but conviction, faith, and confession:
and said, is not this the son of David? or the Messiah; for , "the son of David", is a character of the Messiah, well known among the Jews; See Gill on Mat 1:1 because he was promised to David, was to be raised up of his seed, and to spring from his loins. This question they put, not as doubting of it, but as inclining, at least, to believe it, if not as expressing their certainty of it: and is, as if they had said, who can this person be but the true Messiah, that has wrought such a miracle as this? for from his miracles they rightly concluded who he was; though the Jews since, in order to deprive Jesus of this true characteristic of the Messiah, deny that miracles are to be performed by him (n).
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(n) Maimon. Hilch. Melacim, c. 11. sect. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain He shall show judgment to the heathens - That…
He shall show judgment to the heathens - That is, he shall publish the merciful Gospel to them also: the Hebrew word signifies either mercy or justice. Isaiah xlii, 1, &c.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 18. Behold my servant] This title was given…
Verse 18. Behold my servant] This title was given to our blessed Lord in several prophecies. See Isa 42:1; Isa 53:2. Christ assumes it, Ps 40:7-9. Compare these with Joh 17:4, and Php 2:7. God required an acceptable and perfect service from man; but man, being sinful, could not perform it. Jesus, taking upon him the nature of man, fully performed the whole will of God, and communicates grace to all his followers, to enable them perfectly to love and worthily to magnify their Maker.
And he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.] That is, He will publish the Gospel to the heathens; for the word κρισιν here answers to the word משפט mishpat of the prophet, and it is used among the Hebrews to signify laws, precepts, and a whole system or body of doctrine. See Ps 19:9; Ps 119:30; Ps 119:39; Isa 58:2.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Behold my servant, &c. The words are out of…
Behold my servant, &c. The words are out of the prophet Isaias, Chap. xli. 1. And it is observed that the Jews, before the coming of Jesus, used to expound them of their Messias. (Witham) --- Our Lord Jesus Christ may be called the Servant of the Almighty, because, as himself assures us, he came down not to be served, but to serve; or, as St. Remigius says, not on account of his divinity, but on account of his humanity, which he received from the pure flesh and blood of the immaculate Virgin. (in St. Thomas Aquinas) There is some difference in the text of Isaias, whence this is taken. The apostles and evangelists did not confine themselves to cite the very words of the text, but only the sense. (Bible de Vence)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved,…
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 show judgment to the Gentiles.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 18. Behold my servant — Christ, though the Son,…
18. Behold my servant — Christ, though the Son, humbled himself, and took upon himself the form of a servant. He shall show judgment — That is, he shall reveal the principles of truth and righteousness to the Gentiles. Here the enlargement of the dispensation of the Messiah beyond the limits of Judaism (which was so great a difficulty at first even with our Lord’s apostles and the Apostolic Church) is expressly predicted by the Old Testament prophets.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 18. my servant] Israel as a nation is called…
18. my servant] Israel as a nation is called the servant of Jehovah, Isa_41:8. Here the same title is given to Jesus, as the representative of the nation.
judgment] The Hebrew word is used in a wider sense to denote “religion as the rule of life;” hence judgment may mean (1) “the law of Christ,” “the Gospel,” or (2) adhering to the strict meaning of the Greek word, “the divine sentence or decree.”
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to the Gentiles] Possibly our Lord in His retirement addressed Himself more especially to the Gentiles—the Greeks, Phœnicians, and others, settled near the Lake. “They about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, … came unto him,” Mar_3:8.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (18) Behold my servant.—The mysterious “servant of the Lord,”…
(18) Behold my servant.—The mysterious “servant of the Lord,” who is the central figure of the last part of Isaiah’s prophecies, appears sometimes as the representative of Israel’s righteousness, sometimes of its sins, now as one who bore his witness as a prophet and messenger of God, now as standing apart from all others in solitary greatness, or yet more solitary suffering. In each of these aspects the words of Isaiah found their highest fulfilment in the Son of Man. In referring these words to the Messiah, the Evangelist was following in the footsteps of the Chaldee Paraphrase, but we must remember also that the words recorded as heard at the Baptism of Jesus (almost verbally identical with those of the prophecy now cited) must also have suggested the application, especially as connected with the promise, “I will put My Spirit upon Him,” which had then received its fulfilment.
He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.—The word “judgment” has a wide range of meaning in the Hebrew of Isaiah, and includes the work of a king, as teaching, no less than as executing, righteousness. As yet, of course, the work of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles had not begun, but St. Matthew notes, as it were, by anticipation, the spirit of love and gentleness which, when he wrote his Gospel, had brought them also within the range of the judgments—i.e., of the life-giving truths—of the righteous Judge. It is one of the many instances in which his record, though obviously written for Jews, is yet emphatically a Gospel for the Gentiles.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Behold my servant. Primarily, as would appear, Israel in…
Behold my servant. Primarily, as would appear, Israel in its ideal, up to which true Israelites came in measure, but only One came fully. Whom I have chosen (on hretisa). The Hebrew denotes "lay hold of" (dmta), i.e. for myself. Bengel has a beautiful note on the eiv on of the Received Text, Eiv , in, denotat perpeluam mentis paternae tendentiam erga dilectum, 2Pe_1:17." According to the LXX of 1Ch_29:1, David"s expression about Solomon affords a curious parallel, O uiov mou eiv on hretiken en autw Kuriov (edit. Dr. Swete). But Lagarde"s edition of the Lucianic text punctuates and accents differently, O uiov mou eiv on hretiken en autw kuriov , and this is much nearer to the Hebrew. My beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: (Mat_3:17, note) I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall show (declare, Revised Version) judgment to the Gentiles (kai krisin toiv eynesin apaggelei). Although krisiv usually represents in the New Testament God"s decision as to the character and life of men, it here must be understood, like mishpat in the original, of the Divine right as made known to them for their acceptance and imitation. It is "the true religion viewed on its practical side as a norm and standard for life in all its relations" (Delitzsch). The thought here, therefore, is not of Christ"s power to punish and avenge (though he refused to use it as yet), but of his bringing a revelation which should eventually spread, not only to the Jews who now rejected him, but to the Gentiles whom they despised.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 18. Behold my servant. Christ took the form of…
18. Behold my servant. Christ took the form of a servant. I will put my spirit upon him. Compare Matt. 3:17. He shall shew justice to the Gentiles. Announce himself as judge of the Gentiles. Compare Mark 3:8.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain This too is most significant. The rejected King of…
Gentiles
This too is most significant. The rejected King of Israel will turn to the Gentiles (cf.) Mat 10:5; Mat 10:6. In fulfilment this awaited the official rejection, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ, and the final rejection of the risen Christ.; Luk 24:46; Luk 24:47; Act 9:15; Act 13:46; Act 28:25-28; Rom 11:11.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Here Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah to show that Jesus' ministry fulfilled scripture.
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See
"Look" or "Listen" or "Pay attention to what I am about to tell you"
my ... I
All occurrences of these words refer to God. Isaiah is quoting what God said to him.
my beloved one, in whom my soul is well pleased
"he is my beloved one, and I am very pleased with him"
in whom my soul is well pleased
Here "soul" refers to the whole person. AT: "with whom I am very pleased" (See: Synecdoche)
he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles
The means that God's servant will tell the Gentiles that there will be justice. It can be stated clearly that God is the one who will bring about justice, and the abstract noun "justice" can be expressed as "what is right." AT: "he will announce to the nations that God will do for them what is right" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
servant
chosen one
beloved
soul
Holy Spirit
judge
Gentile
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:18 This quotation parallels Jesus’ baptism (3:13-17). • Justice…
12:18 This quotation parallels Jesus’ baptism (3:13-17). • Justice (or judgment) can have positive or negative implications; the context here favors a positive meaning (12:20; cp. 23:23).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.