Jeremias 42
1 THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS from the Lord in the days of Joakim, king of Juda, saying,
And all the leaders of the warriors, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and the rest of the common people, from the least even to the greatest, drew near.
2 Go to the house of the Archabin, and you shall bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the courts, and give them wine to drink.
And they said to Jeremiah the prophet: “Let our supplication fall before your sight. And pray for us to the Lord your God, on behalf of this entire remnant. For few out of many have been left behind, just as your eyes behold us.
3 So I brought forth Jechonias the son of Jeremin the son of Chabasin, and his brethren, and his sons, and all the family of the Archabin;
And so, may the Lord your God announce to us the way that we must travel, and the word that we must accomplish.”
4 and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Joanan, the son of Ananias, the son of Godolias, a man of God, who dwells near the house of the princes that are over the house of Maasaeas the son of Selom, who kept the court.
Then Jeremiah, the prophet, said to them: “I have listened. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your words. And whatever word he will respond to me, I will declare to you. And I will conceal nothing from you.”
5 And I set before them a jar of wine, and cups, and I said, Drink you wine.
And they said to Jeremiah: “May the Lord be the witness between us of truth and fidelity, if we do not act according to whatever word the Lord your God will send by you to us.
6 But they said, We will on no account drink wine, for our father Jonadab the son of Rechab commanded us, saying, You shall on no account drink wine, [neither] you, nor your sons for ever:
Whether it is for good or for harm, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you. So may it be well with us, when we heed the voice of the Lord our God.”
7 nor shall you at all build houses, nor sow any seed, nor shall you have a vineyard: for you shall dwell in tents all your days; that you may live many days upon the land, in which you sojourn.
Then, when ten days had been completed, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
8 And we listened to the voice of Jonadab our father, so as to drink no wine all our days, we, and our wives, and our sons, and our daughters;
And he called Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of warriors who were with him, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest.
9 and so as to build no houses to dwell in: and we have had no vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
And he said to them: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you have sent me, so that I may present your petitions in his sight:
10 but we have lived in tents, and have listened, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
If you dwell quietly in this land, I will build you up, and I will not tear you down. I will plant you, and I will not uproot you. For now I have been appeased by the harm that I have done to you.
11 And it came to pass, when Nabuchodonosor came up against the land, that we said we would come in; and we entered into Jerusalem, for fear of the host of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the host of the Assyrians: and we lived there.
Do not be afraid before the face of the king of Babylon, whom you have dreaded with great fear. Do not dread him, says the Lord. For I am with you, so that I may accomplish your salvation, and so that I may rescue you from his hand.
12 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And I will give you mercies, and I will take pity on you, and I will cause you to live in your own land.
13 Thus says the Lord, Go, and say to the men of Juda, and to them that dwell in Jerusalem, Will you not receive correction to listen to my words?
But if you say: ‘We will not live in this land, nor will we heed the voice of the Lord our God,’
14 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the word which he commanded his children, that they should drink no wine; and they have not drunk [it]: but I spoke to you early, and you listened not.
saying: ‘Never! Instead, we will travel to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, and we will not hear the blast of the trumpet, and we will not endure famine. And there we shall live.’
15 And I sent to you my servants the prophets, saying, Turn you every one from his evil way, and amend your practices, and go not after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell upon the land which I gave to you and to your fathers: but you inclined not your ears, and listened not.
Because of this, hear now the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces so as to advance into Egypt, and if you enter so that you may live there,
16 But the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command of their father; but this people has not listened to me.
the sword which you dread will overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and the famine, about which you are anxious, will cling to you in Egypt, and there you shall die.
17 Therefore thus says the Lord; Behold, I [will] bring upon Juda and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evils which I pronounced against them.
And all the men, who have set their faces so that they may advance to Egypt in order to live there, will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. None of them will remain, nor will they escape from the face of the evil that I will bring over them.
18 Therefore thus says the Lord; Since the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have listened to the command of their father, to do as their father commanded them:
For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Just as my fury and my indignation has been enflamed over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will my indignation be enflamed over you, when you will have entered into Egypt. And so you will be an oath, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a disgrace. And you will never see this place again.
19 there shall never be lacking a man of the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab to stand before my face while the earth remains.
This is the word of the Lord concerning you, O remnant of Judah: Do not choose to enter into Egypt, for certainly you understand what I have sworn to you this day.
For you have deceived your own souls. For you have sent me to the Lord our God, saying: ‘Pray on our behalf to the Lord our God. And in accord with anything whatsoever that the Lord our God will tell you, announce this to us, and we will do it.’
And I have announced it to you this day, and you have not heeded the voice of the Lord your God, concerning everything about which he has sent me to you.
Therefore, know with certainty now, that you will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence, in the place which you wish to enter so that you may live there.”
