Jeremia 35 | King James Version

1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD 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 the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

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;

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, 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 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 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 where ye be strangers.

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;

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 the LORD unto Jeremiah, 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.

14 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' commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not 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 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 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 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 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.

King James Bible (1769). Public Domain. Please note the following exceptions for use and publication in the United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

New International Reader’s Version

The family line of Rekab

1 A message from the LORD came to Jeremiah. It came during the time Jehoiakim was king over Judah. Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. The message said,

2 ‘Go to the members of the family line of Rekab. Invite them to come to one of the side rooms in my house. Then give them wine to drink.’

3 So I went to get Jaazaniah. He was the son of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the son of Habazziniah. I also went to get Jaazaniah’s brothers and all his sons. That included all the members of the family line of Rekab.

4 I brought them into the LORD’s house. I took them into the room of the sons of Hanan. He was the son of Igdaliah. He was also a man of God. His room was next to the room of the officials. Their room was above the room of Maaseiah. He was the son of Shallum. He also was one of those who guarded the temple doors.

5 Then I got bowls full of wine and some cups. I set them down in front of the men from the family line of Rekab. I said to them, ‘Drink some wine.’

6 But they replied, ‘We don’t drink wine. That’s because Jehonadab gave us a command. He was the son of Rekab. He was also one of our own people from long ago. He commanded, “You and your children after you must never drink wine.

7 Also you must never build houses. You must never plant crops or vineyards. You must never have any of these things. Instead, you must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are wandering around.”

8 We have done everything Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, commanded us to do. So we and our wives and our children have never drunk wine.

9 We have never built houses to live in. We’ve never had vineyards, fields or crops.

10 We’ve always lived in tents. We’ve completely obeyed everything Jehonadab commanded our people of long ago.

11 But Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched into this land. Then we said, “Come. We must go to Jerusalem. There we can escape the armies of Babylon and Aram.” So we have remained in Jerusalem.’

12 Then a message from the LORD came to Jeremiah. It said,

13 ‘The LORD who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Go. Speak to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Tell them, ‘Won’t you ever learn a lesson? Won’t you ever obey my words?’ announces the LORD.

14 ‘Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, ordered his children not to drink wine. And they have kept his command. To this day they do not drink wine. They obey the command Jehonadab gave their people long ago. But I have spoken to you again and again. In spite of that, you have not obeyed me.

15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your evil ways. You must change the way you act. Do not worship other gods. Do not serve them. Then you shall live in the land. I gave it to you and your people of long ago.” But you have not paid any attention. You have not listened to me.

16 The children of Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, have obeyed the command Jehonadab gave them long ago. But the people of Judah have not obeyed me.’ ” ’

17 So the LORD God who rules over all speaks. The God of Israel says, ‘Listen! I am going to bring horrible trouble on Judah. I will also bring it on everyone who lives in Jerusalem. I will bring on them every trouble I said I would. I spoke to them. But they did not listen. I called out to them. But they did not answer.’

18 Then Jeremiah spoke to the members of the family line of Rekab. Jeremiah said, ‘The LORD who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “You have obeyed the command Jehonadab gave your people of long ago. You have followed all his directions. You have done everything he ordered.”

19 So the LORD who rules over all speaks. The God of Israel says, “Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, will always have someone from his family line to serve me.” ’

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