Jeremiah 35

1 [Several years earlier, ] when Jehoiakim was the King of Judah, Yahweh gave me this message:

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

2 “Go to the place where families of the Rechab clan live. Invite them to my temple. [When they arrive, ] take them into one of the inside rooms and offer them [some] wine.”

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 So I went to see Jaazaniah and all his brothers and sons who represented the Rechab clan. Jaazaniah was the son of [another man named] Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah.

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

4 I took them to the temple, [and we went] into the room where the sons of Igdaliah’s son Hanan, who was a prophet, stayed. That room was next to the room that was used by the men who were in charge of the entrances to the temple. It was above the room that belonged to Maaseiah, who was the temple gatekeeper and the son of Shallum.

And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a 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 I set jugs of wine in front of them and urged them to drink some,

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

6 but they refused. They said, “We do not drink wine, because our ancestor Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, commanded us, saying ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine.

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 And you must not build houses or plant vineyards or [other] crops. Instead, you must always live in tents. If you obey those commands, you all will live for many years in this land.’

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 where ye [be] strangers.

8 [So] we have obeyed him in all those matters. We have never drunk wine. Our wives and our sons and our daughters [have also never drunk wine].

Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;

9 We have not built houses or planted vineyards or [other] crops or [worked in] fields.

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

10 We have lived in tents. We have obeyed all the commands that Jehonadab, our ancestor, gave us.

But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

11 But when [the army of] King Nebuchadnezzar attacked this country, we said, ‘We must go to Jerusalem to escape from the armies of Babylonia and Syria.’ So, [we came] to Jerusalem and we are living [here].”

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 Yahweh gave this message to me: “This is what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israeli [people say that they belong to], say:

Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

13 'Go and tell this to the people in Jerusalem and in [other places in] Judah: “Why do you not [RHQ] listen to me or learn something about how to obey me?

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.

14 The Rechab clan still do not drink wine, because their ancestor Jehonadab told them to not do that. [In contrast], I have spoken to you many times, but you refuse to obey me.

The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.

15 Many times I sent prophets to you. They told you, 'Turn away from your wicked behavior, and do things that you should do. Stop worshiping other gods, in order that you will be able to live [peacefully] in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.' But you would not pay attention to what I said or obey me.

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 The descendants of Jehonadab have obeyed their ancestor, but you have refused to pay attention to what I told you.

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 Therefore, this is what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom you Israeli people [say you belong to], say: 'You have refused to listen to me and you did not answer when I called you. Therefore, I will cause the people in Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah to experience all the disasters that I said that I would cause to happen.'” '”

Therefore thus saith the LORD 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 Then I turned to the Rechab clan and said, “This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [say we belong to], says: ‘You have obeyed what your ancestor Jehonadab told you. You have obeyed all his instructions.

And Jeremiah said unto 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, this is what I say: “There will always be descendants of Jehonadab who will do work for me.”’”

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.