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Jeremiah 23

KJV · Chapter 23/52

1Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.

2Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

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

4And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

5Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

7Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

8But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

9Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness.

10For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

11For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.

12Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

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

14I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

15Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

16Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.

17They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

18For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

19Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

20The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

21I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

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

23Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?

24Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

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

26How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

27Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

28The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.

29Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

30Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.

31Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.

32Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.

33And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord.

34And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his house.

35Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken?

36And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.

37Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken?

38But since ye say, The burden of the Lord; therefore thus saith the Lord; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord;

39Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:

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

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God condemns the false shepherds (leaders) who scattered the flock, but promises to raise up a righteous 'Branch' from the line of David. The chapter also harshly denounces the false prophets who lie in God's name.

Explanation

This chapter contains one of Jeremiah's clearest messianic prophecies: a righteous 'Branch' of David who will reign with wisdom and be called 'The Lord Our Righteousness' — a hope Christians see fulfilled in Jesus. At the same time, the criticism of the false prophets is extensive and detailed: they invent dreams, steal words from one another, and promise peace without God's authorization. The most important test presented is that a word truly from God changes people's behavior for the better, while false messages merely comfort without transforming — a test that remains relevant for evaluating any religious teaching today.

Fun facts

  • The title 'The Lord Our Righteousness' (Yahweh Tsidkenu, in Hebrew) is a deliberate wordplay on the name of King Zedekiah, which means 'the Lord is righteousness' — contrasting the failed king with the ideal King who was to come.
  • The image of the 'word like fire' and 'a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces' (v.29) is often cited to describe the genuine transforming power of divine revelation, in contrast to empty speech.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremiah 23:1Opens with a direct criticism of the kings and leaders of Judah, called “pastors,” held responsible for destroying and scattering the people instead of caring for them.
  2. Jeremiah 23:2God promises to hold the leaders themselves accountable for scattering the people — the same word “visit” used before for the people’s judgment now falls on the pastors.
  3. Jeremiah 23:3After the criticism of the bad leaders comes a promise: God Himself will gather the scattered people, acting as the true shepherd the leaders failed to be.
  4. Jeremiah 23:4Promises to replace the bad leaders with others who will truly care for the people well, bringing security in place of the constant fear they had lived with until then.
  5. Jeremiah 23:5The righteous Branch is a messianic hope: after failed kings like Jehoiakim and Coniah himself, the text promises a descendant of David who will govern rightly. The phrase the Lord our righteousness is, in fact, a wordplay on the name of King Zedekiah, who in practice never fulfilled that promise.
  6. Jeremiah 23:6Describes the reign of the “righteous Branch” announced in the previous verse: a time of salvation, with a name that sums it all up, “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” — a wordplay on the name of King Zedekiah.
  7. Jeremiah 23:7Repeats almost the same promise already made in chapter 16: the future return from exile will become a story of deliverance so great it will even replace the memory of the exodus from Egypt.
  8. Jeremiah 23:8Completes the promise: the people’s new landmark of identity will be the return from the land of the north, that is, from Babylonian exile, no longer just the departure from Egypt.
  9. Jeremiah 23:9The great difference Jeremiah draws between a true and a false prophet is not the style of speech but the source. One speaks because he was sent and truly heard the word of God; the other just repeats a dream or his own opinion and calls it a divine message.
  10. Jeremiah 23:10Returns to the theme of widespread moral corruption, including both literal adultery and spiritual unfaithfulness, with effects that reach even the land itself.
  11. Jeremiah 23:11The corruption reaches its most serious point possible: even inside the temple itself, the religious leaders are contaminated by wickedness.
  12. Jeremiah 23:12Compares the fate of these corrupt leaders to walking a slippery path in the dark — they will fall without realizing it, at the appointed time of God’s judgment.
  13. Jeremiah 23:13Recalls the already-known case of the prophets of the northern kingdom, Samaria, who prophesied by Baal — a clear error, used as a comparison for what comes next.
  14. Jeremiah 23:14Surprisingly, God says the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse than those of Samaria — compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, the ultimate symbols of corruption in the Bible.
  15. Jeremiah 23:15Announces a punishment of extreme bitterness for these prophets, holding them responsible for spreading moral corruption across the whole territory, not just the capital.
  16. Jeremiah 23:16God directly warns the people not to trust these prophets: their messages come from their own imagination, not from a true revelation.
  17. Jeremiah 23:17Details the deceptive content of these false prophecies: they guarantee peace and safety precisely to those already living in contempt of God — the opposite of what the situation calls for.
  18. Jeremiah 23:18God questions the authority of these false prophets with a rhetorical question: not one of them actually stood in God’s council to know what they were talking about.
  19. Jeremiah 23:19In contrast to the false promise of peace, God describes the real judgment approaching as a violent storm, aimed specifically at the wicked.
  20. Jeremiah 23:20Confirms that the announced judgment is final and will be fulfilled completely — in the future, when it happens, everyone will understand it was true, even those who doubted it now.
  21. Jeremiah 23:21God denies any authorization to these prophets: they rushed to speak in His name without ever having received a real message.
  22. Jeremiah 23:22Explains the test of prophetic authenticity: a true prophet would call the people to repentance, not confirm their own desire to keep on sinning.
  23. Jeremiah 23:23A question that sets up the next argument: God is not confined to a single place; He sees and knows everything, even what the false prophets think is hidden.
  24. Jeremiah 23:24A God near and a God far away is an answer to those who thought sin could be hidden from God’s sight. The idea that He fills heaven and earth completely dismantles that false sense of security the lying prophets relied on.
  25. Jeremiah 23:25God exposes the common tactic of these false prophets: they claimed to have received dreams as revelation, an easy way to fake divine authority.
  26. Jeremiah 23:26God shows impatience with this practice, making clear that these prophetic “dreams” are nothing but the invention of the prophets’ own minds, with no real revelation behind them.
  27. Jeremiah 23:27Points out the practical effect of these lies: making the people forget God, repeating the same historical mistake of idolatry already seen with Baal in earlier generations.
  28. Jeremiah 23:28God draws a clear distinction: a dream is not a true prophetic word — they are different things, like chaff and wheat, and must not be confused.
  29. Jeremiah 23:29Contrasts God’s true word, powerful like fire and like a hammer that can break rock, with the empty dreams invented by the false prophets.
  30. Jeremiah 23:30Accuses the false prophets of plagiarizing one another, copying phrases that sound prophetic without having received any real revelation.
  31. Jeremiah 23:31Continues the accusation: these prophets use their own gift for fine speech to pretend they are passing on a divine message they never received.
  32. Jeremiah 23:32Sums up the total condemnation of these false prophets: besides being liars, they are useless, bringing no real benefit to the people they deceive.
  33. Jeremiah 23:33Introduces a wordplay in Hebrew: “burden” also means “oracle” — God tells Jeremiah to answer with irony that the only “burden” the people will receive is being abandoned.
  34. Jeremiah 23:34Forbids the use of this specific expression, because it had become a source of ironic mockery against real prophecies of judgment — using the wrong term from now on will bring punishment.
  35. Jeremiah 23:35Teaches the correct way to ask about the divine message, avoiding the term “burden” that had become a source of scorn.
  36. Jeremiah 23:36Explains that continuing to use this twisted expression is, in practice, distorting God’s own words — hence the direct ban on the term.
  37. Jeremiah 23:37Repeats the correct, respectful way to ask about divine revelation, reinforcing the previous teaching.
  38. Jeremiah 23:38God repeats the prohibition already given, making clear that disobeying this specific order will also carry consequences.
  39. Jeremiah 23:39The final punishment for this repeated mockery: God will “forget” the people and the city, a final wordplay that mirrors the irony they themselves used against the true prophecies.
  40. Jeremiah 23:40Closes the chapter with a fate of permanent shame — unlike the forgetting announced before, this particular disgrace will never be erased from memory.

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