Jeremiah 35

The Rechabites’ Example

35This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim ^oson of Josiah, king of Judah: ²“Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, ^pand bring them to one of the chambers ^qof the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine.”

³So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites— ⁴and I brought them into the temple of the Lord to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God, ^rwho had a chamber near the officials’ chamber, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. ⁵I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine!”

⁶But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, ^sson of our ancestor Rechab, commanded: ‘You and your sons must never drink wine. ⁷You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a temporary resident.’ ^t8We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. ⁹We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed. ¹⁰But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done as our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹However, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, ^uwe said: Come, let’s go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies. So we have been living in Jerusalem.”

¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³“This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: Will you not accept discipline ^vby listening to My words?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ¹⁴“The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this very day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again, ^wxand you have not obeyed Me! ¹⁵Time and time again ^yI have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: Turn, each one from his evil way of life, ^zand correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them. ^aLive in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not pay attention or obey Me. ^b16Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor’s command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed Me. ¹⁷Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they would not answer.”

¹⁸Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done all that he commanded you, ¹⁹this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to always stand before Me.’ ” ^c