Jeremiah 23:5

The context

Jeremiah 23 begins with a denunciation of the shepherds who scattered the flock, and then turns to a promise of gathering. Verse 5 introduces a future Davidic king, and verse 6 gives him a name. The passage sits inside a collection of oracles about the exile and return.

What it establishes

It establishes that the promise of a Davidic ruler is set deliberately against failed leaders, and that his defining work is justice and righteousness in the land. The contrast with the shepherds is the point of the placement.

What it does not establish

It does not identify the individual or the timing. The oracle gives no name beyond a title, and the term branch reappears in Zechariah with different associations. The verse promises a ruler; it does not describe how or when the promise is fulfilled.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Matthew quotes a prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene (2:23), but no such prophecy exists in the Old Testament.

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.