Jeremias 42
1 THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS from the Lord in the days of Joakim, king of Juda, saying,
And they come nigh — all the heads of the forces, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest —
2 Go to the house of the Archabin, and thou shalt bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the courts, and give them wine to drink.
and they say unto Jeremiah the prophet, 'Let, we pray thee, our supplication fall before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, for all this remnant; for we have been left a few out of many, as thine eyes do see us;
3 So I brought forth Jechonias the son of Jeremin the son of Chabasin, and his brethren, and his sons, and all the family of the Archabin;
and Jehovah thy God doth declare to us the way in which we walk, and the thing that we do.'
4 and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Joanan, the son of Ananias, the son of Godolias, a man of God, who dwells near the house of the princes that are over the house of Maasaeas the son of Selom, who kept the court.
And Jeremiah the prophet saith unto them, 'I have heard: lo, I am praying unto Jehovah your God according to your words, and it hath come to pass, the whole word that Jehovah answereth you, I declare to you — I do not withhold from you a word.'
5 And I set before them a jar of wine, and cups, and I said, Drink ye wine.
And they have said to Jeremiah, 'Jehovah is against us for a witness true and faithful, if — according to all the word with which Jehovah thy God doth send thee unto us — we do not so.
6 But they said, We will on no account drink wine, for our father Jonadab the son of Rechab commanded us, saying, Ye shall on no account drink wine, [neither] ye, nor your sons for ever:
Whether good or evil, to the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we are sending thee, we do hearken; because it is good for us when we hearken to the voice of Jehovah our God.'
7 nor shall ye at all build houses, nor sow any seed, nor shall ye have a vineyard: for ye shall dwell in tents all your days; that ye may live many days upon the land, in which ye sojourn.
And it cometh to pass, at the end of ten days, that there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah,
8 And we hearkened to the voice of Jonadab our father, so as to drink no wine all our days, we, and our wives, and our sons, and our daughters;
and he calleth unto Johanan son of Kareah, and unto all the heads of the forces that [are] with him, and to all the people, from the least even unto the greatest,
9 and so as to build no houses to dwell in: and we have had no vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
and he saith unto them, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me, to cause your supplication to fall before Him:
10 but we have dwelt in tents, and have hearkened, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
'If ye do certainly dwell in this land, then I have builded you up, and I throw not down; and I have planted you, and I pluck not up; for I have repented concerning the evil that I have done to you.
11 And it came to pass, when Nabuchodonosor came up against the land, that we said we would come in; and we entered into Jerusalem, for fear of the host of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the host of the Assyrians: and we dwelt there.
Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, whom ye are afraid of; be not afraid of him — an affirmation of Jehovah — for with you [am] I, to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.
12 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And I give to you mercies, and he hath pitied you, and caused you to turn back unto your own ground.
13 Thus saith the Lord, Go, and say to the men of Juda, and to them that dwell in Jerusalem, Will ye not receive correction to hearken to my words?
'And if ye are saying, We do not dwell in this land — not to hearken to the voice of Jehovah your God,
14 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the word which he commanded his children, that they should drink no wine; and they have not drunk [it]: but I spoke to you early, and ye hearkened not.
saying, No; but the land of Egypt we enter, that we see no war, and the sound of a trumpet do not hear, and for bread be not hungry; and there do we dwell.
15 And I sent to you my servants the prophets, saying, Turn ye every one from his evil way, and amend your practices, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell upon the land which I gave to you and to your fathers: but ye inclined not your ears, and hearkened not.
And now, therefore, hear ye a word of Jehovah, O remnant of Judah: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: If ye really set your faces to enter Egypt, and have gone in to sojourn there,
16 But the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command of their father; but this people has not hearkened to me.
then it hath come to pass, the sword that ye are afraid of, doth there overtake you, in the land of Egypt; and the hunger, because of which ye are sorrowful, doth there cleave after you in Egypt, and there ye die.
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I [will] bring upon Juda and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evils which I pronounced against them.
'Thus are all the men who have set their faces to enter Egypt to sojourn there; they die — by sword, by hunger, and by pestilence, and there is not to them a remnant and an escaped one, because of the evil that I am bringing in upon them;
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Since the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have hearkened to the command of their father, to do as their father commanded them:
for thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: As poured out hath been Mine anger and My fury on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so poured out is My fury upon you in your entering Egypt, and ye have been for an execration, and for an astonishment, and for a reviling, and for a reproach, and ye do not see any more this place.
19 there shall never be wanting a man of the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab to stand before my face while the earth remains.
'Jehovah hath spoken against you, O remnant of Judah, do not enter Egypt: know certainly that I have testified against you to-day;
for ye have shewed yourselves perverse in your souls, for ye sent me unto Jehovah your God, saying, Pray for us unto Jehovah our God, and according to all that Jehovah our God saith, so declare to us, and we have done [it];
and I declare to you to-day, and ye have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah your God, and to anything with which He hath sent me unto you.
And now, know ye certainly that by sword, by famine, and by pestilence ye die, in the place that ye have desired to go in to sojourn there.'
