The Daily Audio 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 sons 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 temporary resident.’^{(F) 8} We have obeyed the voice of 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 as our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when Nebuchadnezzar king 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 Hosts, 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 sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this very 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 of life,^(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 would 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 Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring to Judah and to 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 would not answer.”

¹⁸ Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to always stand before Me.’”^(M)

Jeremiah Dictates a Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah,^(N) king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Take a scroll,^(O) and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time I first spoke to you during Josiah’s reign until today. ³ Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning to bring on them, each one of them will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their wrongdoing^(P) and their sin.”

⁴ So Jeremiah summoned Baruch^(Q) son of Neriah. At Jeremiah’s dictation,^[c] Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah. ⁵ Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted;^(R) I cannot enter the temple of the Lord, ⁶ so you must go and read from the scroll—which you wrote at my dictation^[d]—the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people at the temple of the Lord on a day of fasting. You must also read them in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities. ⁷ Perhaps their petition will come before the Lord,^(S) and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people are great.” ⁸ So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. At the Lord’s temple he read the Lord’s words from the scroll.

Baruch Reads the Scroll

⁹ In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month,^(T) all the people of Jerusalem and all those coming in from Judah’s cities into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord.^{(U) 10} Then at the Lord’s temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe,^(V) in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate^(W) of the Lord’s temple, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll.

¹¹ When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, ¹² he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace. All the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor,^(X) Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. ¹⁵ They said to him, “Sit down and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell the king all these things.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us—how did you write all these words? At his dictation?”^[e]

¹⁸ Baruch said to them, “At his dictation.^[f] He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

¹⁹ The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.” ²⁰ Then they came to the king at the courtyard, having deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and reported everything in the hearing of the king. ²¹ The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king. ²² Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters^(Y) with a fire burning in front of him. ²³ As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll^[g] with a scribe’s knife and throw the columns into the blazing fire until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the brazier. ²⁴ As they heard all these words, the king and all of his servants did not become terrified^(Z) or tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord had hidden them.

Jeremiah Dictates Another Scroll

²⁷ After the king had burned the scroll with the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,^[h] the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁸ “Take another scroll, and once again write on it the very words that were on the original scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned. ²⁹ You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it:^(AA) The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without man or beast?’ ³⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night.^{(AB) 31} I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their wrongdoing. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the disaster, which I warned them about but they did not listen.”

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation^[i] all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim,^(AC) Judah’s king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

5 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, and with all propriety, the younger women as sisters.

The Support of Widows

³ Support^[a] widows^(A) who are genuinely widows. ⁴ But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God. ⁵ The real widow, left all alone, has put her hope in God^(B) and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers; ⁶ however, she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.^{(C) 7} Command this also, so they won’t be blamed. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide^(D) for his own, that is his own household, he has denied the faith^(E) and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ No widow should be placed on the official support list^[b] unless she is at least 60 years old, has been the wife of one husband, ¹⁰ and is well known for good works^(F)—that is, if she has brought up children, shown hospitality,^(G) washed the saints’ feet,^(H) helped the afflicted,^(I) and devoted herself to every good work.^{(J) 11} But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when they are drawn away from Christ by desire, they want to marry^{(K) 12} and will therefore receive condemnation^(L) because they have renounced their original pledge. ¹³ At the same time, they also learn to be idle, going from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips^(M) and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say. ¹⁴ Therefore, I want younger women to marry,^(N) have children, manage their households, and give the adversary no opportunity to accuse us.^{(O) 15} For some have already turned away^(P) to follow Satan. ¹⁶ If any^[c] believing woman has widows in her family, she should help them, and the church should not be burdened, so that it can help those who are genuinely widows.

Honoring the Elders

¹⁷ The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium,^[d] especially those who work hard^(Q) at preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says:

¹⁹ Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.^{(T) 20} Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will also be afraid. ²¹ I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe^(U) these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism. ²² Don’t be too quick to appoint^[f](V) anyone as an elder, and don’t share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.^{(W) 23} Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. ²⁴ Some people’s sins are obvious, going before them to judgment,^(X) but the sins of others surface^[g] later. ²⁵ Likewise, good works are obvious, and those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden.