Jeremiah 35

1 This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

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

2 Go to where the Rechabites live. Invite them to come with you to one of the rooms in the Lord's Temple and offer them wine to drink.

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

3 So I went to visit Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole Rechabite family.

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 Then I took them into the Lord's Temple, to a room used by the sons of Hanan, son of Igdaliah, a man of God. It was next to the one used by the officials, which was above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, who was the Temple doorkeeper.

and brought them into the house of Jehovah, 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 placed some jugs full of wine and some cups before the Rechabites and told them, “Have some wine to drink.”

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.”

6 “We don't drink wine,” they said, “because our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab gave us these orders: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine.

But they said, “We will not drink wine; for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, ye nor your sons, forever;

7 Don't ever build houses or sow crops or plant vineyards. You're not to do this. Instead, you are to always live in tents so that you may have long lives as you move from place to place in the country.’

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 long in the land wherein ye are strangers.

8 We have done exactly what our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab told us. None of us have ever drunk wine, and that includes our wives and our sons and daughters as well as us.

And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, neither we, nor our wives, nor our sons, nor our daughters;

9 We haven't built houses to live in, and we haven't had any vineyards or fields or grown any crops.

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

10 We've lived in tents and have obeyed our forefather Jonadab, following everything he ordered us to do.

but we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us.

11 So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the country we decided, ‘Come on, let's go into Jerusalem to be safe from the armies of the Chaldeans, Babylonians, and Arameans.’ That's why we've stayed in Jerusalem.”

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 Chaldaeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we dwell at Jerusalem.”

12 Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, saying,

13 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: Why don't you accept my instructions and obey what I tell you? the Lord asks.

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

14 The instructions of Jonadab son of Rechab have been followed. He ordered his descendants not to drink wine, and they have not drunk it to this day because they have obeyed their forefather's command. But I have told you what to do time and again, and yet you refuse to obey me!

The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, in which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, have been performed; for they have drunk no wine to this day, but have obeyed the commandment of their father. I also have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking, but ye have not hearkened to me.

15 Time and again I've sent you so many of my servants the prophets to tell you: Everyone, stop your evil ways and do what's right! Don't go following other gods and worshiping them. Live in the land that I gave you and your fathers. But you haven't paid attention or obeyed me.

And I have sent to you all my servants, the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every one 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.

16 These descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have followed the command given to them by their forefather, but these people haven't obeyed me.

Since then the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, and this people have not hearkened to me;

17 So this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Watch as I bring down on Judah and on all the people living in Jerusalem all the disasters I have threatened to do to them, because I have told them what to do but they haven't obeyed; I have appealed to them but they haven't responded.

therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil which I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, and they have not hearkened, and I have called to them, and they have not answered.

18 Then Jeremiah told the Rechabites: This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Because you have obeyed your forefather Jonadab's instructions and have followed his orders and have done everything he told you to do,

And to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said: Thus saith Jehovah 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 which he commanded you,

19 this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will always have someone who will be in my presence serving me.

therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: There shall not fail in the land of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, men to stand before me forever.