He will not fail or be discouraged: This line has the last two negated verbs of the subsection. As the RSV footnotes indicate here, the Hebrew verb rendered fail comes from the same root as the word for “dimly burning” in the previous verse, while the Hebrew verb translated be discouraged comes from the same root as the word for “bruised.” This clever play-on-words provides a link between verses 3 and 4. While the servant will not extinguish a dimly burning wick, neither will he burn dimly, that is, he will not fail. While he will not break a crushed reed, neither will he be crushed, that is, he will not be discouraged. Even though the servant will be gentle and caring, it does not mean that he will be weak and unable to fulfill his mission. For this line New Jerusalem Bible suggests “he will not grow faint, he will not be crushed” as a way to link it with the previous verse. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh shows the connection even better with “He shall not grow dim or be bruised.” If translators can use the same words in both verses and have a translation that is clear and natural, they should do so.

Till he has established justice in the earth: This is the third time in verses 1-4 that God says his servant will establish justice. He repeats it for emphasis. Good News Translation omits the conjunction till to avoid the misunderstanding that the servant will fail once he has completed his mission. God says his servant will never fail no matter how long it takes him to establish justice. The earth refers to the entire known world.

And the coastlands wait for his law: This line is parallel to the previous one. For coastlands see the comments on 41.1. Here it refers to “Distant lands” (Good News Translation). Bible en français courant expresses it well with “distant peoples.” The Hebrew verb rendered wait for means “to expect/anticipate.” Although this verb by itself does not indicate that the people will receive what they expect, the context seems to imply that they will. They will eagerly await his law. The Hebrew word for law (torah) is better rendered “teaching” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “instruction” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant) in this context (see the comments on 1.10 and 2.3).

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• He will not falter, he will not be crushed,
until he has ensured there is justice in the world,
and the distant nations wait expectantly for his teachings.”

• He will not grow weak, he will not be shattered,
until he makes the world a place of justice,
and far-off nations anticipate what he can teach them.”

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .