35 He purposeth the obedience of the Rechabites, and thereby confoundeth the pride of the Jews.

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, in the days [a]of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

Go unto the house of the [b]Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

Then took I Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah the son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites,

And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah a man [c]of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the [d]treasure.

And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and [e]said unto them, Drink wine.

But they said, We will drink no wine: for [f]Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, [g]Ye shall drink no wine, neither you nor your sons forever.

Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any, but all your days ye shall dwell in tents, that ye may live a long time in the land where ye be strangers.

Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father, in all that he hath charged us, and we drink no wine all our days, neither we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters.

Neither build we houses for us to dwell in, neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed,

10 But we have remained in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to [h]all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel came up into the land, we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem, from the host of the Chaldeans, and from the host of Aram: so we [i]dwell at Jerusalem.

12 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

13 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Go, and tell the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will [j]ye not receive doctrine to obey my words, saith the Lord?

14 The commandment of Jonadab the son of Rechab that he commanded his sons, that they should drink no wine, is surely kept: for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, [k]rising early, and speaking, but ye would not obey me.

15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the Prophets: rising up early, and sending them, saying, (A)Return now every man from his evil way, and amend your works, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given unto you, and to your fathers, but ye would not incline your ear, nor obey me.

16 Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab, have kept the commandment of their father, which he gave them, but this people hath not obeyed me.

17 (B)Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, because I have [l]spoken unto them, but they would not hear, and I have called unto them, but they would not answer.

18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you,

19 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab the son of Rechab shall [m]not want a man, to stand before me forever.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 35:1 For the disposition and order of these prophecies, read Jer. 27:1.
  2. Jeremiah 35:2 They came of Hobab Moses’ father-in-law, who was no Israelite, but after joined with them in the service of God.
  3. Jeremiah 35:4 That is, a Prophet.
  4. Jeremiah 35:4 Or, door.
  5. Jeremiah 35:5 The Prophet saith not. The Lord saith thus, for then they ought to have obeyed, but he tendeth to another end: that is, to declare their obedience to man, seeing the Jews would not obey God himself.
  6. Jeremiah 35:6 Whom Jehu the King of Israel favored for his zeal, 2 Kings 10:15.
  7. Jeremiah 35:6 Teaching them hereby to flee all occasion of intemperancy, ambition and avarice, and that they might know that they were strangers in the earth, and be ready to depart at all occasions.
  8. Jeremiah 35:10 Which was now for the space of three hundred years from Jehu to Jehoiakim.
  9. Jeremiah 35:11 Which declareth that they were not so bound to their vow, that it could not be broken for any necessity: for where they were commanded to dwell in tents, they dwell now at Jerusalem for fear of the wars.
  10. Jeremiah 35:13 Whom I have chosen to be my children, seeing these which were the children of an heathen man, obeyed the commandment of their father.
  11. Jeremiah 35:14 I have most diligently exhorted and warned you both by myself and my Prophet.
  12. Jeremiah 35:17 That is, by his Prophets and ministers, which showeth that it is as much, as though he should speak to us himself, when he sendeth his ministers to speak in his Name.
  13. Jeremiah 35:19 His posterity shall continue and be in my favor forever.

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