← All Chapters The Book of Jeremiah · Chapter 23

Jeremiah 23: The Righteous Branch

Against the false shepherds and lying prophets, God promises to raise up a righteous King from David called "Yahweh our righteousness."

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Jeremiah 23 (WEB)

1 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says Yahweh.

2 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who feed my people: You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; behold, I will visit on you the evil of your doings, says Yahweh.

3 I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and multiply.

4 I will set up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking, says Yahweh.

5 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name by which he shall be called: Yahweh our righteousness.

7 Therefore behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that they shall no more say, As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

8 but, As Yahweh lives, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries where I had driven them. They shall dwell in their own land.

9 Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken, all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine has overcome, because of Yahweh, and because of his holy words.

10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourns; the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right;

11 for both prophet and priest are profane; yes, in my house have I found their wickedness, says Yahweh.

12 Therefore their way shall be to them as slippery places in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein; for I will bring evil on them, even the year of their visitation, says Yahweh.

13 I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

14 In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one returns from his wickedness: they have all become to me as Sodom, and its inhabitants as Gomorrah.

15 Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land.

16 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Yahweh.

17 They say continually to those who despise me, Yahweh has said, You shall have peace; and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, No evil shall come on you.

18 For who has stood in the council of Yahweh, that he should perceive and hear his word? who has marked my word, and heard it?

19 Behold, Yahweh’s storm, his wrath, has gone out. Yes, a whirling storm. It shall burst on the head of the wicked.

20 Yahweh’s anger shall not return, until he has executed, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days you shall understand it perfectly.

21 I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I didn’t speak to them, yet they prophesied.

22 But if they had stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

23 Am I a God at hand, says Yahweh, and not a God afar off?

24 Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? says Yahweh. Don’t I fill heaven and earth? says Yahweh.

25 I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

27 who think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers forgot my name for Baal.

28 The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? says Yahweh.

29 Isn’t my word like fire? says Yahweh; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

30 Therefore behold, I am against the prophets, says Yahweh, who steal my words everyone from his neighbor.

31 Behold, I am against the prophets, says Yahweh, who use their tongues, and say, He says.

32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says Yahweh, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting: yet I didn’t send them, nor commanded them; neither do they profit this people at all, says Yahweh.

33 When this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask you, saying, What is the burden of Yahweh? Then you shall tell them, What burden! I will cast you off, says Yahweh.

34 As for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, who shall say, The burden of Yahweh, I will even punish that man and his house.

35 You shall say everyone to his neighbor, and everyone to his brother, What has Yahweh answered? and, What has Yahweh spoken?

36 You shall mention the burden of Yahweh no more: for every man’s own word shall be his burden; for you have perverted the words of the living God, of Yahweh of Armies our God.

37 You shall say to the prophet, What has Yahweh answered you? and, What has Yahweh spoken?

38 But if you say, The burden of Yahweh; therefore thus says Yahweh: Because you say this word, The burden of Yahweh, and I have sent to you, saying, You shall not say, The burden of Yahweh;

39 therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, and the city that I gave to you and to your fathers, away from my presence:

40 and I will bring an everlasting reproach on you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

Summary

God pronounces woe on the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of his pasture—the failed kings and leaders who have driven his flock away. He promises to gather the remnant and set over them shepherds who will truly feed them. Then comes a radiant gospel promise: the days are coming when God will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel dwell securely, and his name will be "Yahweh our righteousness." This is a clear messianic hope, fulfilled in Christ, the true Shepherd-King who is himself our righteousness. The chapter then turns sharply against the false prophets, whose immorality and lies have spread ungodliness through the land. They prophesy from their own hearts, telling those who despise God that they will have peace, having never stood in the council of the Lord. God asks whether he is a God only nearby and not far off, who fills heaven and earth, so that no liar can hide from him. His word is like fire and like a hammer that breaks rock, utterly unlike the empty dreams of deceivers. The chapter ends warning against trifling with "the burden of Yahweh," lest they perish for perverting the words of the living God. Christ the Branch shines against the dark backdrop of faithless leaders.

Voices

  • Jeremiah — The prophet who exposes the lying prophets and announces God's promise of a righteous Branch from David's line.
  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who gathers his scattered flock, raises up the righteous King, and confronts the prophets who speak lies in his name.
  • The righteous Branch — The promised King from David called "Yahweh our righteousness," who reigns in justice and saves his people—fulfilled in Christ.
  • The false prophets — Adulterous, lying prophets who never stood in God's council yet promise peace to those who despise him.

Key Verse

Jeremiah 23:5 (WEB)

Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

Lessons Learned

  • God holds leaders responsible for the spiritual care of those entrusted to them (Jeremiah 23:1-2).
  • God promises a righteous King from David's line who fulfills what every other shepherd failed to do (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
  • True prophecy comes from standing in God's council, not from the imaginations of our own hearts (Jeremiah 23:16, 18).
  • God's word is like fire and a hammer—powerful, penetrating, and utterly distinct from human invention (Jeremiah 23:29).
  • God will judge faithless shepherds. “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” (Jeremiah 23:1, WEB). Those who lead his people answer to him for their care.
  • Christ is our righteousness. The promised Branch is called “Yahweh our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6, WEB). In Jesus, God himself becomes the righteousness we could never achieve.
  • False comfort comes from false sources. Liars “speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Yahweh” (Jeremiah 23:16, WEB). What does not come from God cannot truly save.
  • God's word carries irresistible power. “Isn’t my word like fire?… and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29, WEB). His true word does what empty dreams never can.
  1. Who are the “shepherds” God condemns in verses 1-2, and what is their failure?
  2. How does the promise of the righteous Branch (23:5-6) answer the failure of Judah's kings, and how is it fulfilled in Jesus?
  3. What is the significance of the Branch's name, “Yahweh our righteousness” (23:6)?
  4. What distinguishes a true prophet from a false one according to verses 16-22?
  5. How do you discern between God's true word and the comforting but false messages our culture or our own hearts offer?
  1. The shepherds are Judah's kings and leaders who, instead of feeding and protecting the flock, scattered and destroyed it through injustice and idolatry (23:1-2). Help the group see God's tender ownership of his people—"my pasture," "my flock"—and his anger when leaders harm them.
  2. Where human kings failed, God promises a righteous Branch from David who will reign wisely and bring salvation (23:5-6). This points unmistakably to Jesus, the good Shepherd and righteous King. Let the group rejoice that the answer to failed leadership is not a better policy but a perfect Savior.
  3. The name declares that this King is himself the LORD and that he becomes righteousness for his people. It anticipates the gospel: we are counted righteous not by our works but in Christ. Encourage the group to rest in a righteousness that is given, not earned.
  4. True prophets stand in God's council and speak his word faithfully, even when it confronts; false prophets speak from their own hearts and promise peace to the rebellious (23:16-22). The test is fidelity to God's revealed word, not popularity. Invite the group to weigh messages against Scripture.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to share how they test teaching and their own thoughts against God's word, prayer, and community. As leader, affirm that God's word, like fire and a hammer, will not merely comfort but also refine and reshape us.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.