Jeremiah 35
World English Bible
35 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into Yahweh’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.”
3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, with his brothers, all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; 4 and I brought them into Yahweh’s house, into the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the room of the princes, which was above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold. 5 I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine!”
6 But they said, “We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons, forever. 7 You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, or have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land in which you live as nomads.’ 8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters; 9 and not to build houses for ourselves to dwell in. We have no vineyard, field, or seed; 10 but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, ‘Come! Let’s go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we will dwell at Jerusalem.’”
12 Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words?” says Yahweh. 14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment; but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking, and you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Every one of you must return now from his evil way, amend your doings, and don’t go after other gods to serve them, then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers:’ but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me. 16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me.”’
17 “Therefore Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.’”
18 Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you;’ 19 therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab the son of Rechab will not lack a man to stand before me forever.’”
Jeremiah 35
International Standard Version
The Example of the Rechabites
35 This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign[a] of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah: 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them. Bring them into the Lord’s Temple, to one of the offices, and offer them wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jeremiah’s son Jaazaniah (a descendant of Habazziniah), his brothers, all his sons, and the whole family of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the Lord’s Temple to the office of the descendants of Igdaliah’s son Hanan, the man of God, which was next to the office of the officials, and which was above the office of Shallum’s son Maaseiah, the keeper of the threshold.
5 I put containers full of wine and cups in front of the members of the Rechabite clan[b] and told them, “Drink the wine!”
6 But they said, “We won’t drink wine, because our ancestor, Rechab’s son Jonadab commanded us: ‘You and your descendants are never to drink wine! 7 You aren’t to build houses, you aren’t to sow seeds, and you aren’t to plant vineyards, or own them. Instead, you are to live in tents all your lives,[c] so you will enjoy a long life in the land where you reside.’[d] 8 We have obeyed everything that our ancestor, Rechab’s son Jonadab, commanded us. So we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters have drunk no wine all our lives,[e] 9 and have built no houses to live in. We don’t have vineyards, fields, or seed. 10 We have lived in tents. We have obeyed and have done everything that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. 11 Now when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come on! Let’s go to Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of Aram. And now we’re living in Jerusalem.’”
12 This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not accept correction by listening to what I say?” declares the Lord. 14 “But what Rechab’s son Jonadab commanded his sons about not drinking wine is observed, and they haven’t drunk wine until this day. Indeed, they obey the commands of their ancestor. But I’ve spoken to you again and again,[f] and you haven’t obeyed me. 15 I’ve sent you all my servants, the prophets, sending them again and again.[g] I’ve said, ‘Each of you turn from his evil behavior[h] and make your deeds right. Don’t follow other gods to serve them. Then you will remain in the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’ But you haven’t paid attention[i] and you haven’t obeyed me. 16 Indeed the descendants of Rechab’s son Jonadab have carried out the command of their ancestor that he gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.” 17 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: “Look, I’m bringing on Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster that I pronounced against them, because I spoke to them, but they didn’t listen, and I called out to them, but they didn’t answer.”’”
18 Then Jeremiah told the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you obeyed the commandment of your ancestor Jonadab, have observed all his commandments, and have done everything that he commanded you,’ 19 therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Rechab’s son Jonadab won’t lack a descendant[j] who serves me[k] always.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 35:1 Lit. days
- Jeremiah 35:5 Lit. the sons of the house of the Rechabites
- Jeremiah 35:7 Lit. your days
- Jeremiah 35:7 I.e. living as resident aliens
- Jeremiah 35:8 Lit. all our days
- Jeremiah 35:14 Lit. getting up early and speaking
- Jeremiah 35:15 Lit. getting up early and sending
- Jeremiah 35:15 Lit. way
- Jeremiah 35:15 Lit. inclined your ear
- Jeremiah 35:19 Cf. Neh 3:14
- Jeremiah 35:19 Lit. there won’t be cut off from Rechab’s son Jonadab one standing before me
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