‘Their leader shall be one of them, And their ruler will come out from their midst; And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from among them. I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach to me; for who is he who has had boldness to approach to me?” says Yahweh.
- KJV And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD.
- BSB Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own to approach Me?” declares the LORD.
- NKJV Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
- NLT They will have their own ruler again, and he will come from their own people. I will invite him to approach me,” says the Lord, “for who would dare to come unless invited?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Their ruler will arise from among themselves and be granted unique access to draw near to God. This points to a coming leader uniquely qualified to approach the LORD.
Overview
God promises a prince from Israel's own people who is invited to draw near, something no one would presume to do on his own. Many in the historic Christian tradition see here a foreshadowing of the Messiah, who alone has access to God and brings His people near. The verse highlights the danger of approaching a holy God apart from His appointment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 40
- Num 16:5He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him.
- Ezek 34:23–24I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
- Acts 5:31God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
- Ezek 37:24My servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.
- Mark 11:9–10Those who went in front, and those who followed, cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
- 2 Sam 7:13He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
- Ps 110:1–4A Psalm by David. Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
- 1 Jn 2:2And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
- Deut 18:18I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.
- Heb 7:21–26(for they indeed have been made priests without an oath), but he with an oath by him that says of him, “The Lord swore and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’”
- Deut 33:5He was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
- Isa 9:6–7For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Zech 6:12–13and speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build Yahweh’s temple;
- Jer 50:44Behold, the enemy will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make them run away from it. Whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it; for who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?”
- Matt 27:37They set up over his head the accusation against him written, “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
- Matt 3:17Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
- Matt 21:5–11“Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
- Jer 49:19“Behold, he will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it. For who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who will stand before me?”
- Matt 2:2“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
- Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
- Rev 19:16He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
- Gen 18:27Abraham answered, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes.
- John 18:36–37Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”
- Heb 4:14–16Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession.
- Mic 5:2–4But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
- Heb 9:15–24For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
- Jer 30:9but they will serve Yahweh their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them.
- Job 42:3–6You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ therefore I have uttered that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I didn’t know.
- Ps 89:29I will also make his offspring endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
- Gen 18:32He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.”
- Neh 2:9–10Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
- Neh 7:2I put my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem; for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.
- Heb 1:3His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
- Gen 18:30He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
- Rev 5:9–10They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation,
- Luke 1:32–33He 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,
- Isa 63:1Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? Who this who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
- Jer 33:15“In those days, and at that time, I will cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he will execute justice and righteousness in the land.
- John 19:19–22Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
- Acts 2:34–36For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 30:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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