< Jeremias 35 >

1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Sedekias king of Juda, in the fifth month, [that] Ananias the false prophet, the son of Azor, from Gabaon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying,
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying:
2 Thus says the Lord; I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
'Go unto the house of the 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.'
3 Yet two full years, and I will return into this place the vessels of the house of the Lord,
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 Jechonias, and the captivity of Juda: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
and I brought them into the house of the LORD, 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 door;
5 Then Jeremias spoke to Ananias in the sight of all the people, and in the sight of the priests that stood in the house of the Lord,
and I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites goblets full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them: 'Drink ye wine.'
6 and Jeremias said, May the Lord indeed do thus; may he confirm your word which you do prophesy, to return the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the captivity, out of Babylon to this place.
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 Nevertheless hear you the word of the Lord which I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people.
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 The prophets that were before me and before you of old, also prophesied over much country, and against great kingdoms, concerning war.
And we have hearkened to 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, nor our daughters;
9 [As for] the prophet that has prophesied for peace, when the word has come [to pass], they shall know the prophet whom the Lord has sent them in truth.
nor to build houses for us to dwell in, neither to have vineyard, or field, or seed;
10 Then Ananias took the yokes from the neck of Jeremias in the sight of all the people, and broke them to pieces.
but we have dwelt in tents, and have hearkened, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11 And Ananias spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus said the Lord; Thus will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon from the necks of all the nations. And Jeremias went his way.
But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up against 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 Arameans; so we dwell at Jerusalem.'
12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, after that Ananias had broken the yokes off his neck, saying,
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying:
13 Go and speak to Ananias, saying, Thus says the Lord; You have broken the yokes of wood; but I will make instead of them yokes of iron.
'Thus saith the LORD 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 the LORD.
14 For thus said the Lord, I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all the nations, that they may serve the king of Babylon.
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 hearken to their father's commandment; but I have spoken unto you, speaking betimes and often, and ye have not hearkened unto Me.
15 And Jeremias said to Ananias, The Lord has not sent you; and you have caused this people to trust in unrighteousness.
I have sent also unto you all My servants the prophets, sending them betimes and often, 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 Therefore thus said the Lord: Behold, I [will] cast you off from the face of the earth: this year you shall die.
Because 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 So he died in the seventh month.
therefore thus saith the LORD, 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.'
And unto the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because ye have hearkened to the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he commanded you;
therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: There shall not be cut off unto Jonadab the son of Rechab a man to stand before Me for ever.'

< Jeremias 35 >