Jeremiah 35
New American Standard Bible
The Rechabites’ Obedience
35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of (A)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the (B)Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the (C)chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household of the Rechabites, 4 and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the (D)man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, (E)the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set before the [a]men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “(F)Drink wine!” 6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, for (G)Jonadab the son of (H)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall (I)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. 7 You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor [b]own one; but you shall live in (J)tents all your days, so that you may live (K)many days [c]in the land where you (L)live as strangers.’ 8 And we have (M)obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we (N)do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed. 10 But we have (O)lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father (P)Jonadab commanded us. 11 However, when (Q)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let’s (R)go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”
Judah Rebuked
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “(S)Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?” declares the Lord. 14 “The (T)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you (U)again and again, yet you have (V)not listened to Me. 15 Also I have sent to you all My (W)servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘(X)Turn now every person from his evil way and amend your deeds, and (Y)do not follow other gods to worship them. Then you will (Z)live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not (AA)inclined your ear or listened to Me. 16 Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have (AB)followed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ 17 Therefore this is what the Lord says, the God of armies, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, (AC)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I (AD)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”
18 Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have (AE)obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you, 19 therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Jonadab the son of Rechab (AF)will not lack a man to (AG)stand before Me [d]always.”’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 35:5 Lit sons
- Jeremiah 35:7 Lit shall it be to you
- Jeremiah 35:7 Lit on the face of the
- Jeremiah 35:19 Lit all the days
Jeremiah 35
Christian Standard Bible
The Rechabites’ Example
35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim(A) son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them,(B) and bring them to one of the chambers(C) of the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine.”
3 So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites— 4 and I brought them into the temple of the Lord to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God,(D) who had a chamber near the officials’ chamber, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5 I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine!”
6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab,(E) son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded, ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. 7 You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a resident alien.’(F) 8 We have obeyed Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. 9 We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed. 10 But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. 11 However, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched into the land,(G) we said, ‘Come, let’s go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies.’ So we have been living in Jerusalem.”
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not accept discipline(H) by listening to my words?—this is the Lord’s declaration. 14 The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his descendants not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again,[a](I) and you have not obeyed me! 15 Time and time again[b] I have sent you all my servants the prophets, proclaiming, “Turn, each one from his evil way,(J) and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them.(K) Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay attention or obey me.(L) 16 Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor’s command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed me. 17 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring on Judah and on all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they did not answer.’”
18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done everything he commanded you, 19 this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before me always.’”(M)
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