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Jeremiah 35

1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;4 and I brought them into the house of Jehovah, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man 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 threshold.5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.6 But they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons, for ever:7 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 many days in the land wherein ye sojourn.8 And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;9 nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:10 but we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we dwell at Jerusalem.12 Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,13 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Go, and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith Jehovah.14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and unto this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment: but I have spoken unto you, rising up early and speaking; and ye have not hearkened unto me.15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.16 Forasmuch as the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people hath not hearkened unto me;17 therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God 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 spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.18 And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith Jehovah 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 commanded you;19 therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

JEREMIAH 35

Learn a Lesson //from the Rechabites

1  t When Jehoiakimt was king of Judah, the [Lord] told me,

2 “Go to the Rechabite clan and invite them to meet you in one of the side roomst of the temple. When they arrive, offer them a drink of wine.”
3 So I went to Jaazaniah, t the leader of the clan, and I invited him and all the men of his clan.

4 I brought them into the temple courtyard and took them upstairs to a room belonging to the prophets who were followers of Hanan son of Igdaliah. It was next to a room belonging to some of the officials, and that room was over the one belonging to Maaseiah, a priest who was one of the high officials in the temple.t

5 I set out some large bowls full of wine together with some cups, and then I said to the Rechabites, “Have some wine!”

6 But they answered:
No! The ancestor of our clan, Jonadab son of Rechab, t made a rule that we must obey. He said, “Don't ever drink wine

7 or build houses or plant crops and vineyards. Instead, you must always live in tents and move from place to place. If you obey this command, you will live a long time.”
8-10 Our clan has always obeyed Jonadab's command. To this very day, we and our wives and sons and daughters don't drink wine or build houses or plant vineyards or crops. And we have lived in tents,

11 except now we have to live inside Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzart has taken over the countryside with his army from Babylonia and Syria.

12-13 Then the [Lord] told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
I, the [Lord] All-Powerful, the God of Israel, want you to learn a lesson 14 from the Rechabite clan. Their ancestor Jonadab told his descendants never to drink wine, and to this very day they have obeyed him. But I have spoken to you over and over, and you haven't obeyed me!

15 You refused to listen to my prophets, who kept telling you, “Stop doing evil and worshiping other gods! Start obeying the [Lord], and he will let you live in this land he gave your ancestors.”
16 The Rechabites have obeyed the command of their ancestor Jonadab, but you have not obeyed me,

17 your God. I am the [Lord] All-Powerful, and I warned you about the terrible things that would happen to you if you did not listen to me. But you have ignored me, so now disaster will strike you. I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The [Lord] Makes a Promise //to the Rechabites


18 Then the [Lord] told me to say to the Rechabite clan:
“I am the [Lord] All-Powerful, the God of Israel. You have obeyed your ancestor Jonadab, 19 so I promise that your clan will be my servants and will never die out.”