WOE TO THE SHEPHERDS who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. 2Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD. 3“I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.
5“The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.
7“So then, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
9Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the LORD
and his holy words.
10The land is full of adulterers;
because of the curse the land lies parched
and the pastures in the desert are withered.
The prophets follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.
11“Both prophet and priest are godless;
even in my temple I find their wickedness,”
declares the LORD.
12“Therefore their path will become slippery;
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,”
declares the LORD.
13“Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible:
They commit adultery and live a lie.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
15Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty says concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
16This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the LORD.
17They keep saying to those who despise me,
‘The LORD says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19See, the storm of the LORD
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20The anger of the LORD will not turn back
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21I did not send these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22But if they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.
23“Am I only a God nearby,”
declares the LORD,
“and not a God far away?
24Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him?”
declares the LORD.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the LORD.
25“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? 27They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. 28Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the LORD. 29“Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
30“Therefore,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The LORD declares.’ 32Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the LORD. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the LORD.
33“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the oracle of the LORD?’ say to them, ‘What oracle? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’ 34If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household. 35This is what each of you keeps on saying to his friend or relative: ‘What is the LORD’s answer?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 36But you must not mention ‘the oracle of the LORD’ again, because every man’s own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God. 37This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the LORD’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 38Although you claim, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD,’ this is what the LORD says: You used the words, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD.’ 39Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers. 40I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Original Meaning
JEREMIAH 23 COLLECTS a number of harsh sayings against the religious leaders who oppose Jeremiah in word and deed. As is common in the first half of the book, there are no dates associated with these prophecies. Included among the “shepherds” mentioned at the beginning of the chapter are almost certainly kings—perhaps the three kings (Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah) mentioned in the previous two chapters.1 Priests are also mentioned (23:11, 33–34), but the brunt of the criticism falls on prophets, who have not understood the Lord correctly and who have, therefore, misled the people (cf. Deut. 13; 18). Among these words of judgment are also claims that God intends to redeem his scattered people and to raise up a shepherd in whose days Judah and Israel will find security.
23:1–4. Punishment and crime are linked for the shepherds in this brief prose text. God will bring judgment on them because they have not cared for their flock. Verse 2 charges them more specifically with not caring for “my [i.e. God’s] people.” The scattered flock is identified as the exiled remnant of God’s people, who will be brought back to their homeland (23:3, 7–8). This passage, therefore, probably originated after the first wave of exiles was taken away to Babylon in 597 B.C. Since the fall and destruction of Jerusalem are not mentioned, it is less likely that the prophecy originated after 587/586 B.C.
23:5–6. This passage begins with a typical formula about the future: “The days are coming.” God will raise up for his scattered people a shepherd who will rule justly and wisely.2 He will be a king from David’s line. His wonderful name, “The LORD Our Righteousness” (yhwh ṣideqenu), is a pun on the name Zedekiah (= Righteous is Yahweh), the last king of Judah (who reigned from 597–587/586 B.C.). For the generation of Jeremiah, the symbolic name of this “righteous Branch” is probably a sarcastic judgment on Zedekiah; moreover, it points to God’s resolve to restore his people and fulfill his promises to the Davidic line.
This prophecy, like the prose text that begins chapter 23, should be read in the context of the previous section (21:11–22:30) and its concern with the injustice and failures of the Davidic monarchs. The judgment to fall on the shepherds comes because they have failed to fulfill the duties of their office. As verse 5 proclaims, a king should “do what is just [mišpaṭ] and right [ṣedaqa] in the land.” These are the normative terms, the expected attributes of kingship (see 22:15; also Ps. 72:1–4).
The name of the king (“The LORD Our Righteousness”) represents significant claims about the work of God. (1) In his days Judah and Israel “will be saved”3 and will dwell securely. (2) The righteousness indicated in his name is for the people, even though it is not fully their own. The Lord is their righteousness. It is the integrity of the Lord, his fidelity to his promises, that is finally the people’s righteousness.
23:7–8. Prophecy of a future change in the circumstances of the people continues in these two verses (see also 16:14–15). Just as something new and wonderful will emerge from David’s line, so a second exodus will occur, and the exiled people will return to their land.
The criticisms of the prophets who are misleading the people are manifold. The rest of the chapter concerns their culpability in failing their office and the people. These prophecies come as part of an exchange between Jeremiah and God. The voices can be outlined as follows:
A. 23:9–10: Jeremiah laments the evil course of his prophetic opponents.
B. 23:11–12: God speaks of the wickedness he sees and announces judgment.
C. 23:13–14: Jeremiah refers to prophets in Samaria and Jerusalem as repulsive.
D. 23:15–24: God denies that he has sent these misleading prophets and affirms that nothing they do is secret to him.
E. 23:25–40: In this prose section Jeremiah reports God’s anger at the false dreams and oracles offered in his name.
23:9–10. Perhaps the first clause of verse 9 is a heading for the materials that follow and not just for Jeremiah’s anguished comments in verses 9–10. Jeremiah reacts to the dire straits of his people and the power of his prophetic opponents to mislead them. He mentions drought conditions as one element of his horror (cf. ch. 14). The magnitude of God’s words of judgment have rendered the prophet like a drunken man. It is not clear whether this is metaphorical language to describe Jeremiah’s strong emotional reaction or if he actually manifests physical symptoms (“all my bones tremble”).
23:11–12. God’s first reply notes that the wickedness of prophet and priest is in “my temple” (lit., “my house”). These verses confirm that the prophets and priests who serve there are also offering oracles of assurance that the nation will not fall.
23:13–14. Jeremiah reports a repulsive thing he has observed about the earlier prophets of Samaria (the northern kingdom): They prophesied by Baal and led God’s people astray (cf. 23:27). This historical comment interprets the fall of Israel and Samaria in 722/721 B.C. Something equally heinous is then reported with respect to the prophets in Jerusalem: They are adulterers and living a lie. These observations can be attributed either to God or to Jeremiah, but the introductory formula of verse 15—“Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty says”—implies that Jeremiah is the speaker in verses 13–14 and that the divine oracle in verses 15–24 is God’s response. Verse 14 offers a familiar analogy to describe the folly of Samaria and Jerusalem; the two cities are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities on the plain that God overthrew because of their wickedness (Gen. 18:16–19:29).
23:15–24. The introductory formula of verse 15 is like that of verse 9. Concerning the prophets, it seems to introduce several oracles from the Lord. There are additional rhetorical formulae in verses 16, 23, and 24. The command “do not listen to … the prophets” is addressed to the people.4 The prophets who prophesy “peace” is a familiar complaint in Jeremiah. There will be no peace or security for a people who “despise” God.
The oracle about judgment on the prophets notes that the people will better understand this matter in “days to come” (v. 20). It is the function of a book like Jeremiah, which was published in the aftermath of Judah’s demise, to make clear that the people had trusted in lies.
God denies sending these prophets. The rhetorical question of verse 18—“Which of [the prophets] has stood in the council of the LORD?”—implies an emphatic negative for an answer. None of them has been privy to God’s council.5 If they had been in God’s council, then they would have proclaimed the evil deeds of the people and attempted to turn them from their acts and the consequences.
The rhetorical questions of verses 23–24 are also intended for the people’s hearing. Whether near or far, the people and their deeds are known to God, who fills heaven and earth (with his presence).
23:25–40. These prose comments continue the criticism of Jerusalem’s prophets. One of their modes of communicating is dream reports. Verse 28 makes a distinction between the faithful reporting of God’s word and the reporting of a dream. The implication is that the reception of the word is a different form of experience, but it is not further defined. In effect, it is like the hammer that shatters rock.
Verses 33–40 begin with a play on one of the words for “oracle” (maśśa’), which can also be translated as “burden” (cf. NIV note). Perhaps the link between the two meanings of the word comes from the concept of bearing or carrying something. The Greek translation of verse 33 reflects a different Hebrew text from the Masoretic Text. The question implied by the LXX reads: “What is the maśśa’ [oracle] of the LORD?” and it is answered by a statement directed to the people, “You are the maśśa’ [the burden].” The gist of these last verses is clear, however the wordplay is sorted out: God will judge the prophets and the people who listen to them.
It is important to note that in all the criticism of the prophets, the expression “false prophet” is not used. Some of these prophets probably deserved the description, for they looked to Baal for their inspiration or simply lied about their reception of a message from Yahweh. Some, however, might not deserve such a description. Perhaps they had been of service in the cause of the Lord in times past, and they sincerely hoped that their message of peace and security had its origin with the Lord.
These judgments against the religious leaders of the people are related to other passages in Jeremiah. Various narratives and oracles make it clear that Jehoiakim and Zedekiah failed as shepherds of the nation. That some members of the priesthood were hostile to Jeremiah is clear from 20:1–6. Jeremiah will have a memorable encounter with a prophet named Hananiah in chapter 28, and he will be involved (via letters) in debate with Judean prophets in Babylon (29:21–32). His prayers of lament are derived, in part, from his experiences of ridicule and humiliation at the hand of these leaders.
Bridging Contexts
FALSE PROPHETS. The covenant-renewal document known as Deuteronomy has stipulations that parallel Jeremiah’s criticisms of religious leaders and provide a broader biblical context in which to interpret the prophet’s critique. One may point to the first two commandments of the Decalogue (Deut. 5:7–10), which forbid the worship of other deities. In elaboration, Deuteronomy 13 and 18 warn the people to avoid prophets who advocate the worship of other deities. They offer warnings about prophets and dreamers who will lead Israel astray. The penalty for such prophetic activity is death. Jeremiah’s harsh words about the religious leaders apparently have their roots in this broader biblical context of a judicial judgment on “false prophets” for inciting a rebellion or turning people away from the Lord. Similarly, Jesus judges “false prophets” harshly because of the damage they do (Matt. 7:15–23).6
Deuteronomy 17:14–20 requires that the king in Israel have a copy of the covenant law and that he live by its precepts. The integrity required of the ruler is missing among the indicted shepherds, whose lack of justice and righteousness and whose failure to cling to the Lord have resulted in the scattering of the Lord’s flock.
Shepherding motif. The language of shepherd and shepherding is a part of the broader biblical theme of the character of leadership in Israel, taken from the cultural role of a shepherd who tends his flocks by providing sustenance and protection from harm. Israel offers praise to God, who is the ultimate Shepherd of his people (Ps. 23:1; 80:1). Ezekiel likewise uses the specific imagery of the shepherd for a ruler in his criticism of Judean leaders (Ezek. 34). Nathan, David’s prophetic advisor, received a prophetic revelation to remind David that he was anointed to shepherd God’s people (2 Sam. 7:7). Here is foundational material for the Davidic covenant and the royal office ultimately filled by Christ. In the New Testament Christ identifies himself as the “good shepherd” who lays down his life for the flock (John 10; cf. 1 Peter 2:25).
Jeremiah announces that God will raise up a faithful shepherd whose symbolic name indicates that the Lord is the people’s righteousness. Christians recognize the truth of that prophecy in a way Jeremiah’s contemporaries could not. Old Testament saints heard that prophecy as God’s faithfulness to the Davidic line and his grace in saving a remnant of his people. The name, of course, is symbolic of the character of the future ruler. In Christ God has demonstrated his righteousness and also accepted Christ’s righteousness on behalf of those who trust in his saving work. Christ thus fulfills the Davidic hopes and represents them in a faithful, yet also grander, way than anticipated by Jeremiah’s contemporaries. Christ is, as noted in the previous chapter, the culmination of the hopes of the royal office. Even the failures of a Zedekiah (or any failures in the line of David) simply set Christ’s headship over the church in bold relief.
Contemporary Significance
LEADERSHIP OF GOD’S PEOPLE. Jeremiah’s criticism of religious leaders touches on a sensitive and central biblical theme: that of the spiritual and moral character of leadership among God’s people. The history of the church is replete with examples of good and bad leadership. Saints of the past such as Augustine, Martin Luther, and William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) provided visionary leadership and a piety combining moral character and devotion to Christ. On the other side were Gnostics, syncretists, and libertines, who diluted the faith and argued that morals do not matter.
It is a sobering exercise for modern Christians to ask who among the church’s leadership downplay the issues of moral character and soft-pedal the spiritual characteristics needed to shepherd God’s people. Who among the spokespersons for the faith downplay the distinctive character of Christian faith in return for an emphasis on greater commonality with the world? What leaders say one thing and yet represent another in their personal lives? The point is not to advocate moralism at all costs but to look carefully for the consistency of the prophetic voice with the faith it defends in controversial times.
Jeremiah criticizes the prophets who proclaim that all is well when the corporate life of the people shows desperate problems. In some Christian circles it is relatively easy to paint a sordid picture of parts of human existence but more difficult to strike a balance between a negative assessment of human failure and a positive proclamation of God’s ability to heal and to transform. Correspondingly, some Christian communities find it too easy to ignore problems within their midst, and they look with disfavor on those who disturb the peace and purity of the church. Those who lead the church and claim to know the direction in which it should go have a great responsibility. “By their fruit you will recognize them,” said Jesus (Matt. 7:16), a practical test that is consistent with Jeremiah’s criticism of his prophetic contemporaries and a test that remains crucial in the present.
A true prophet. Jeremiah was a true prophet because the word he received from the Lord was vindicated in the events of history. Clearly, the timing of the fulfillment was a point of consternation for him. He spent years proclaiming a judgment that came only after much anguish on his part. That his word about the future eventually did occur is one of the tests for true prophecy (according to Deuteronomy). With the life of the people in crisis, Jeremiah announced that Judah had to change or judgment would come. Eventually he understood that any repentance would be too little and too late. Those prophets who disagreed with him were wrong historically and theologically. In essence, their denial of judgment was a denial of the Lord at work redemptively through historical judgment. Their words diverted the people’s attention from seeking the Lord to a false assurance that he would protect them.
Is this not like the turmoil over Jesus’ public ministry, where he continually called people to a life of commitment and spiritual discernment in counting the cost of discipleship? Discipleship (i.e., following Christ) is also a form of leadership, and vice versa. Christ came not to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45). That is the point of Christology; it is the point for all shepherds in the church.