Jeremiah 23:5

"Behold, the days are coming," introduces a message of hope for the future 16 times in Jeremiah. [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., p. 119.] Yahweh also promised to raise up another Davidic King in the future (cf. Psalms 2; Psalms 44; Psalms 72; Psalms 89-110). He would be as a branch or sprout (Heb. semah) that springs up from an apparently dead stump, namely, the Davidic line of kings (cf. Jeremiah 33:15; 2 Samuel 23:5; Psalms 132:17; Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 11:1; Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12). His characteristic virtues would be wisdom, justice, and righteousness, traits notably absent from the last of Judah’s kings (cf. Jeremiah 22:3). He would be a true shoot (Heb. semah saddiq), a "legitimate scion," of David’s line. [Note: See J. Swetnam, "Some Observations on the Background of saddiq in Jeremiah 23:5a," Biblica 46:1 (1965):29-40.] He would rule as a true King, not as a puppet like the last four kings of Judah. This is one of the few direct messianic references in Jeremiah (cf. Jeremiah 3:15-18; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Jeremiah 33:15-16).