Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 42:2

"He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street." — Isaiah 42:2 (ASV)

He shall not cry ... —Isaiah’s ideal of a teacher, but partly realized in himself, is that of one exempt from the violence of strong feelings, calm in the sereneness of authority, strong in his far-reaching and pitying sympathy. False prophets might rave as in orgiastic frenzy. We are reminded of Solon affecting the inspiration of a soothsayer in order to attract attention to his converts.

Even true prophets might be stirred to vehement and incisive speech, but it should not be so with him. No point of resemblance between the archetype and the portrait seems to have impressed people so deeply as this (Matthew 7:29; Matthew 12:17–21). The “street” describes the open space of an Eastern city, in which, as in the Greek agora, men harangued the people, while “the gate of the city” was reserved for the more formal administration of justice (Ruth 4:1; Proverbs 31:23).