< Jeremias 42 >

1 THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS from the Lord in the days of Joakim, king of Juda, saying,
Then all the captaines of the hoste, and Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and Iezaniah the sonne of Hoshaaiah, and all the people from the least vnto the most came,
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 saide vnto Ieremiah the Prophete, Heare our prayer, we beseeche thee, and pray for vs vnto the Lord thy God, euen for all this remnant (for we are left, but a fewe of many, as thine eyes doe beholde)
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;
That the Lord thy God may shewe vs the way wherein wee may walke, and the thing that we may doe.
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 Ieremiah the Prophet said vnto them, I haue heard you: behold, I will pray vnto ye Lord your God according to your wordes, and whatsoeuer thing the Lord shall answere you, I will declare it vnto you: I will keepe nothing backe from you.
5 And I set before them a jar of wine, and cups, and I said, Drink you wine.
Then they said to Ieremiah, The Lord be a witnesse of trueth, and faith betweene vs, if we doe not, euen according to all things for ye which the Lord thy God shall send thee to vs.
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 be good or euill, we will obey the voyce of the Lord God, to whom we sende thee that it may be well with vs, when wee obey the voyce 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.
And so after ten dayes came the word of the Lord vnto Ieremiah.
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;
Then called he Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and all the captaines of the hoste, which were with him, and all ye people from ye least to the most,
9 and so as to build no houses to dwell in: and we have had no vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
And saide vnto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, vnto whom ye sent me to present your prayers before him,
10 but we have lived in tents, and have listened, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
If ye will dwell in this land, then I wil build you, and not destroy you, and I will plant you, and not roote you out: for I repent me of the euill that I haue done vnto 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.
Feare not for the King of Babel, of whom ye are afraide: be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you, to saue you, and to deliuer you from his hand,
12 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And I will graunt you mercie that he may haue compassion vpon you, and he shall cause you to dwell in your owne 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 ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither heare the voyce of the Lord your 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, Nay, but we will goe into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no warre, nor heare the sounde of the trumpet, nor haue hunger of bread, and there will we dwell,
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.
(And nowe therefore heare the worde of the Lord, ye remnant of Iudah: thus sayeth the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, If ye set your faces to enter into Egypt, and goe to dwell 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.
Then the sworde that ye feared, shall take you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, for the which ye care, shall there hang vpon you in Egypt, and there shall ye 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 that set their faces to enter into Egypt to dwell there, shall die by ye sword, by the famine and by the pestilence, and none of them shall remaine nor escape from the plague, that I will bring vpon 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 saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, As mine anger and my wrath hath bene powred foorth vpon the inhabitants of Ierusalem: so shall my wrath be powred foorth vpon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt, and ye shall be a detestation, and an astonishment, and a curse and a reproche, and ye shall see this place no more.
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.
O ye remnant of Iudah, the Lord hath said concerning you, Goe not into Egypt: knowe certeinely that I haue admonished you this day.
Surely ye dissembled in your hearts When ye sent me vnto the Lord your God, saying, Pray for vs vnto the Lord our God, and declare vnto vs euen according vnto al that the Lord our God shall say, and we will doe it.
Therefore I haue this day declared it you, but you haue not obeyed the voyce of the Lord your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me vnto you.
Nowe therefore, knowe certeinely that ye shall die by the sworde, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to goe and dwell.

< Jeremias 42 >