
He shall reign as king and shall prosper, and he shall do what is just and right in the land
Jeremiah 23:5 (The Israel Bible™)
Hear the verse in Hebrew
u-ma-LAKH me-LEKH ve-HEES-keel ve-a-sah MEESH-pat u'-TZE-da-KAH ba-a-RETZ
Ancient and Modern Kingship
After comparing the evil leadership of the people to wicked shepherds that cause the sheep to scatter,
Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) describes the ideal leader, a descendant of David. In his days, the exiled northern tribes of the kingdom of
Yisrael (Israel) will reunite with the kingdom of
Yehuda (Judea) and together they will dwell safely in the Land of Israel. The leader will be given the name
Hashem tzidkaynu , “
Hashem is our Vindicator.” The root of the word
tzidkaynu is
tzedek (צדק), “righteousness,” indicating the ideals through which he will lead the nation.
Yirmiyahu gives the same name to
Yerushalayim (33:16), representing the values for which the rebuilt city will be known around the world. Pictured above is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the past few weeks, Netanyahu has been at the forefront of international news as the US Embassy made it's historic move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.