Jeremiah 35

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

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,

2 Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

Thus says the Lord; I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

3 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;

Yet two full years, and I will return into this place the vessels of the house of the Lord,

4 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, who was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:

and Jechonias, and the captivity of Juda: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

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

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,

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:

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.

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 where ye are strangers.

Nevertheless hear you the word of the Lord which I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people.

8 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;

The prophets that were before me and before you of old, also prophesied over much country, and against great kingdoms, concerning war.

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

[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.

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

Then Ananias took the yokes from the neck of Jeremias in the sight of all the people, and broke them to pieces.

11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar 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.

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.

12 Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, after that Ananias had broken the yokes off his neck, saying,

13 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.

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.

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

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.

15 I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising 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 to me.

And Jeremias said to Ananias, The Lord has not sent you; and you have caused this people to trust in unrighteousness.

16 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 to me:

Therefore thus said the Lord: Behold, I [will] cast you off from the face of the earth: this year you shall die.

17 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 to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.

So he died in the seventh month.

18 And Jeremiah said to 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 to all that he hath commanded you:

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