23:1 to the shepherds who destroy and scatter A metaphor for the rulers of Judah. Their poor leadership resulted in judgment and scattering of the people. Compare Isa 56:11 and Ezek 34:2.

23:3 I myself will gather together the remnant of my flock The bad shepherds scattered the flock, but Yahweh will gather them again. See Ezek 34:11 and note.

23:5 I will raise up for David a righteous branch The Hebrew word used here, tsemach, often translated “branch,” is a metaphor referring to the Messiah (see Isa 4:2 and note).

justice and righteousness The Messiah will fulfill the ideal that Zedekiah could not live up to. See Jer 22:3 and note.

23:6 Yahweh is our righteousness A play on Zedekiah’s name, which means “Yahweh is my righteousness.” The Messiah fulfills the expectation for the Davidic king.

Names of God in the Old Testament Table

23:7 from the land of Egypt See note on 16:14. These verses in vv. 7–8 parallel 16:14–15.

23:10 the land is full of adulterers Refers metaphorically to idolatry.

23:11 both prophet as well as priest are godless Even the religious leaders are unfaithful to Yahweh.

I have found their wickedness Idol-worship was occurring in the temple of Yahweh according to 2 Kgs 23:4 and Ezek 8.

23:13 the prophets of Samaria Refers to the prophets of the northern kingdom of Israel. Apparently, these were prophets of Baal, not Yahweh (see 1 Kgs 18:20–40).

Baal The Canaanite storm god and Yahweh’s leading rival for Israel’s worship. King Ahab of Israel is depicted as the one who introduced and promoted Baal worship in ancient Israel (1 Kgs 16:30–34).

23:14 the prophets of Jerusalem Jeremiah accuses the prophets of Judah of promoting injustice as well as idolatry.

like Sodom Yahweh’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Gen 18–19) typified the devastating effects of His wrath. See note on Isa 1:9.

23:15 Yahweh of hosts A title identifying God as leader of the heavenly armies. See note on Jer 6:6.

wormwood A metaphor for judgment.

23:17 Peace it will be to you A reassuring but false prophecy. See 6:14 and note.

23:18 the council of Yahweh The mark of a true prophet was his admission to the divine council, where he received his mission and divine message (see 1:9–10; 1 Kgs 22:19–23; Isa 6:1–13; Ezek 1:1–3:15; compare the divine council imagery in Job 1–2; Psa 82; 89:7).

23:19 the storm of Yahweh Symbolizes the arrival of the divine presence in a theophany—a physical manifestation of God’s presence (compare Job 38:1 and note).

23:23 a God from near The rhetorical questions in Jer 23:23–24 emphasize Yahweh’s presence everywhere (His omnipresence). He is well aware of the abuses carried on in His name by the prophets.

23:28 What is straw compared to wheat ? Contrasts the valuable grain (true prophecy) with the worthless chaff (false prophecy).

23:29 my word like fire Which will consume the straw of v. 28.

23:30 look, I am against the prophets A challenge formula (repeated three times) indicating Yahweh’s total opposition to their misleading ministry.

who steal my words each one from his neighbor These prophets claim to have heard from Yahweh, but they are actually just repeating the same false message of hope.

23:32 dreams of lies While Yahweh could communicate through dreams (e.g., Gen 28:12), these prophets were falsely claiming to have received divine revelation through dreams.

23:33 What is the burden of Yahweh? They ask for a message from God (massa).

You are the burden The Hebrew Masoretic text reads eth-mah-massa (“what burden?”), but the Greek Septuagint understood the phrase as attem hamassa (“you are the burden”)—which makes better sense of the Hebrew grammar. Following the Septuagint reading, the prophet’s response plays on the double meaning of massa, which can denote a prophetic oracle or a physical burden. Jeremiah declares that the very people who are asking for the massa (“message”) are themselves the massa (“burden”) that Yahweh is about to throw away.

23:36 you shall not mention again A prohibition from declaring that a message is a massa (or oracle) from Yahweh based on its misuse in presenting the words of men as the words of God. The prophets who continued using the phrase would be punished, as it indicated they were continuing to mislead the people.