# Connecting Statement: Matthew continues to quote the prophet Isaiah. # neither will anyone hear his voice Here people not hearing his voice represents him not speaking loudly. AT: "he will not speak loudly" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]]) # his ... He All occurrences of these words refer to God's chosen servant. # in the streets This is an idiom that means "publicly." AT: "in the cities and towns" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom]]) # He will not break any bruised reed; he will not quench any smoking flax Both of these statements mean the same thing. They are metaphors emphasizing that God's servant will be gentle and kind. Both "bruised reed" and "smoking flax" represent weak and hurting people. If the metaphor is confusing, you could translate the literal meaning. AT: "He will be kind to weak people, and he will be gentle to those who are hurting" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]]) # bruised reed "damaged plant" # he will not quench "he will not put out" # smoking flax This refers to a lamp wick after the flame has gone out and when it is only smoking. # flax, until This can be translated with a new sentence: "flax. This is what he will do until" # he leads justice to victory "he succeeds in bringing my justice and salvation to the people." If the sentence is rearranged, the ideas in the abstract nouns "justice" and "victory" can be expressed with "just" and "save." AT: "the people know that I am just and that I will save them" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns]]) # in his name Here "name" refers to the whole person. AT: "in him" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche]]) # translationWords * [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/voice]] * [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/reed]] * [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/judge]] * [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/gentile]] * [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/name]]