Bible Strands
Jeremiah 23:5
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through Jeremiah to Judah, immediately after condemning its shepherds for scattering the flock (23:1–3). This is the pivot from judgment to the promised remedy.
The words — צֶ֣מַח (Tze.mach) is a botanical term for a new shoot or branch; applied to a person it carries the sense of a fresh growth emerging from an existing stock, here David's line.
The thread — The "Branch" image recurs in Isaiah 4:2 ("Branch of the LORD") and the Davidic throne promise in Luke 1:32; the "raise up" language echoes Isaiah 52:13's servant who is "raised and lifted up." The righteousness named here is the same quality that becomes the title in v. 6, "The LORD Our Righteousness."
Why it lands — The verse stakes a concrete claim: a king who will actually govern justly, not merely a dynastic heir. It forces the reader to measure their present leadership against that standard and to hold the promise as a claim, not a comfort.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Behold, 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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 4:2 On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors.
- Luke 1:32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Isaiah 52:13 Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
- Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
- Zechariah 6:12 And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD.
- Zechariah 3:8 Hear now, O high priest Joshua, you and your companions seated before you, who are indeed a sign. For behold, I am going to bring My servant, the Branch.
- Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
- Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.
- Isaiah 53:2 He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
- Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.