Jeremiah 23:1–4 — Judgment on Corrupt Shepherds and God’s Promise to Gather His Flock

1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.
2 Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says against the shepherds who feed my people: “You have scattered my flock, 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. They will be fruitful and multiply.
4 I will set up shepherds over them, who will feed them. They will fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither will any be lacking,” says Yahweh.

Commentary
The chapter opens with a thunderous “woe” against Israel’s “shepherds”—the kings, priests, and prophets responsible for spiritual care. Instead of nurturing the flock, they scattered them. The Hebrew verb used for “destroy” (מַאֲבִדִים, ma’avidim) suggests intentional negligence—leaders whose self-interest and spiritual compromise harmed the very people they were supposed to protect.

But God will intervene personally. He says, “I will visit on you the evil of your doings,” meaning He Himself will hold false leaders accountable. Yet the tone quickly shifts from judgment to grace: God promises to gather His flock from all nations. This anticipates both the return from exile and the greater spiritual gathering fulfilled in Christ (John 10:14–16).

Verse 4 is crucial: God will raise up faithful shepherds so His people will no longer fear. The ultimate fulfillment of this promise is seen in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who restores, feeds, protects, and leads His people with perfect righteousness.

Jesus fulfills all the requirements of the law. Jesus fulfills being the true shepherd. Jesus is the perfect priest, prophet, and king. All that we see in typology is fulfilled in the Messiah. Praise to Jesus for being the only representative to fulfill all these duties the rest of us failed to do.

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Jeremiah 23:5–6 — The Messianic Prophecy: The Righteous Branch of David

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

6 In his days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell safely.
This is his name by which he will be called:
‘Yahweh our righteousness.’”

Commentary
These verses are among the most important messianic prophecies in all of Jeremiah. The “Righteous Branch” (צֶמַח צַדִּיק, tsemach tzaddiq) is imagery drawn from a stump—something cut down yet sprouting life again. After the Davidic dynasty had been humiliated, God promises to raise up a new king from David’s line.

This king is not like Jehoiakim or Zedekiah, who were corrupt and self-serving. He will:

• deal wisely
• execute justice
• bring salvation and safety

The climax is in His name: Yahweh Tsidkenu — “The LORD our righteousness.”
This is not merely a title—it is theological revelation. The people’s righteousness is not found in themselves but in the King God provides.

In New Testament terms, this is Christ’s imputed righteousness—what Paul explains in Romans 3–5. Judah could not produce righteousness on its own; it had to receive it from God. The Messiah embodies and bestows that righteousness to His people.

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Jeremiah 23:7–8 — A New Exodus

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7 “Therefore behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that they will 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 offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will dwell in their own land.”

Commentary
Jeremiah foresees a redemption so great it will eclipse the Exodus. For Israel, the Exodus was the defining salvation event. Yet the return from exile—and ultimately, the salvation found in Christ—would overshadow it.

Hebrew prophets often use “new Exodus” imagery to describe major acts of redemption (Isaiah 40–55). Jeremiah is pointing to a salvation so sweeping that the old stories will seem small by comparison.

For the believer, this points forward to the greater deliverance from sin, death, and bondage through Jesus—the salvation that defines the new covenant.

Jeremiah is describing a future act of God so great that it will completely eclipse the Exodus—the story that defined Israel’s identity for centuries. It is like when a nation experiences a turning point so transformative that earlier historical events, though still important, fade into the background.

Think of the fall of the Berlin Wall or the end of apartheid—moments so powerful that they rewrote a nation’s story. In the same way, Jeremiah says Israel will no longer define themselves by the God who brought them out of Egypt, but by the God who brings them home from exile.

This can be compared to a person whose testimony of God’s restoration becomes so overwhelming that it replaces the trauma or past struggle that once defined them. It’s also like how a major technological breakthrough makes previous innovations feel small by comparison—the printing press mattered, but the internet reshaped the entire world.

Jeremiah uses this imagery to show that God’s next act of redemption would be a “new Exodus,” a deliverance so sweeping, so identity-shaping, that the old stories will seem like the prelude. Ultimately, this points forward to Christ, whose death and resurrection redefine the believer’s entire identity. Today we don’t primarily say, “God who brought Israel out of Egypt,” but “God who raised Jesus from the dead and delivered us from sin.” The new covenant becomes the central salvation story—God’s greatest rescue, the one that rewrites everything.

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Jeremiah 23:9–15 — False Prophets and Their Poisonous Influence

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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 have dried up.
Their course is evil,
and their might is not right.

11 “For both prophet and priest are profane.
Yes, in my house I have found their wickedness,” says Yahweh.

12 Therefore their way will be to them as slippery places in the darkness.
They will be driven on, and fall in it;
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.
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 Yahweh of Armies says concerning the prophets:
“Behold, I will feed them with wormwood,
and make them drink poisoned water;
for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land.”

Commentary
Jeremiah is physically shaken by the corruption he sees. The imagery of trembling bones and drunkenness illustrates the overwhelming weight of God’s word upon him.

False prophets had become spiritual poison:

• They were morally corrupt (“adulterers”)
• They spoke lies in God’s name
• They strengthened wickedness instead of calling for repentance
• They turned God’s house into a place of corruption

In verse 14, the phrase “horrible thing” (שַׁעַר שְׁנוֹרָה, sha’ar shenorah) conveys something shocking and appalling—spiritual betrayal at the highest levels.

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Jeremiah 23:16–22 — The False Peace of Deceptive Preaching

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16 Yahweh of Armies says,
“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 will have peace;’
and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart they say,
‘No evil will come on you.’

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

Commentary
Here is the essence of false prophecy:
It offers comfort without repentance.

They preached “peace, peace,” when judgment was coming. They told the stubborn, the rebellious, and the idolatrous that everything would be fine. This is a timeless danger—leaders who affirm people but never confront sin.

Jeremiah contrasts them with the true prophet, who has “stood in the council of Yahweh” (סוֹד יְהוָה, sod Yahweh)—a Hebrew phrase referring to intimate communion with God where His will is revealed.

False prophets speak from their own hearts; true prophets speak from God’s heart.

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Jeremiah 23:23–32 — God Against the Dreamers of Lies

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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 will 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 will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

27 They intend to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams…

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 who use their tongues, and say, ‘He says.’
32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams,” says Yahweh…

Commentary
God confronts prophets who claim spiritual authority (“I had a dream!”) but who deliver messages from their own imagination. Their words lead people away from God, not toward Him.

Verse 29 stands out:
God’s Word is a fire and a hammer.
It consumes impurity and shatters hardness. True preaching exposes sin, burns away idolatry, and breaks stubborn hearts so God can rebuild them.

Three times God declares, “I am against” these prophets. This repetition underscores the severity of their offense—they manipulated His name for personal prestige.

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Jeremiah 23:33–40 — The “Burden of the Lord” Rebuked

WEB (selected)
33 When this people, or the prophet, or a priest, asks you, saying, “What is the burden of Yahweh?” then you shall say to them, “What burden! I will cast you off,” says Yahweh.

36 …for every man’s own word will be his burden;
for you have perverted the words of the living God…

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

Commentary
The phrase “burden of Yahweh” (מַשָּׂא יְהוָה, massa Yahweh) was being misused as a way to mock Jeremiah. People were sarcastically asking, “So what heavy message do you have for us now?”

God turns their mockery back on them:
“Your own words will be the burden.”

Because they twisted God’s word, their lies would return as judgment. Misusing Scripture—then or now—is no small matter.

The chapter ends with an ominous note: “everlasting reproach” upon those who falsely speak in God’s name. This highlights the seriousness of spiritual leadership. Those who claim to speak for God must do so in truth.

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Pastoral and Practical Applications for Today

1. True leadership protects, feeds, and gathers—never scatters.

God holds shepherds accountable for the spiritual well-being of His people.

2. Christ is the Righteous Branch who gives us His own righteousness.

Our hope is not in our goodness but in His perfect obedience.

3. Do not trust messages of comfort that ignore repentance.

False peace is spiritual poison.

4. God’s Word confronts sin with fire and shatters pride like a hammer.

If preaching never convicts, it is not God’s Word.

5. Spiritual authority must be rooted in intimacy with God.

True prophets “stand in the council of Yahweh.”

6. God sees everything—even the secret places of the heart.

Hidden sin is never truly hidden from Him.

7. Misusing God’s Word is a dangerous act.

Jeremiah 23 is a sobering reminder for pastors, teachers, and anyone who speaks in God’s name.