en_tn_condensed/mat/12/20.md

# He

All occurrences of "he" refer to God's chosen servant.

# 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. Alternate translation: "He will be kind to weak people, and he will be gentle to those who are hurting" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]])

# bruised reed

"damaged plant"

# he will not quench any smoking flax

"he will not put out any smoking flax" or "he will not stop any smoking flax from burning"

# 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

Leading someone to victory represents causing him to be victorious. Causing justice to be victorious represents making things right that had been wrong. Alternate translation: "he makes everything right" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-abstractnouns]])