Lyrics · Jeremiah
A Righteous Branch, and a King Shall Reign
Jeremiah 23:1-8
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About the passage
Jeremiah 23: A righteous Branch and words that are not straw
Jeremiah 23 sets failed leadership beside promises of restored leadership, then turns the same scrutiny on prophetic speech. Shepherds who scattered God's flock are held responsible for the care they withheld, while God promises to gather the remnant and provide shepherds who actually feed it. The chapter then raises a righteous Branch for David, a king defined by judgment, justice, safety, and a new act of gathering. After that promise, the language becomes an extended examination of false prophecy. Priests and prophets can occupy sacred offices while spreading profaneness through the land. Speakers can run without being sent, promise peace to people determined not to turn, claim dreams, steal one another's words, and borrow formulas that sound authoritative. Jeremiah answers with images of counsel, wheat, chaff, fire, and a hammer. The decisive question is not how confident or familiar the message sounds, but whether God actually spoke and sent the speaker, and whether the word confronts rather than protects wrongdoing.
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