Jeremiah 42

1 Then came near all the captains of the armies, and Jochanan the son of Kareach, and Yezanyah the son of Hosha'yah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest,

THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS from the Lord in the days of Joakim, king of Juda, saying,

2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our humble supplication be accepted before thee, and pray in our behalf unto the Lord thy God, in behalf of all this remnant; [for we are left but a few of many, as thy own eyes do see us: ]

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.

3 That the Lord thy God may tell us the way whereon we should walk, and the thing that we should do.

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;

4 Then said Jeremiah the prophet unto them, I have heard you: behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord will answer you, I will tell unto you; I will withhold not a word from you.

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.

5 But they said to Jeremiah, May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not act entirely according to all the word with which the Lord thy God may send thee to us:

And I set before them a jar of wine, and cups, and I said, Drink you wine.

6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will hearken to the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; in order that it may be well with us, when we hearken to the voice of the Lord our God.

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:

7 And it came to pass at the end of ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah.

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.

8 Then called he Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

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;

9 And he said unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your humble supplication before him:

and so as to build no houses to dwell in: and we have had no vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

10 If ye will indeed remain in this land, then will I build you up, and I will not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I have bethought me of the evil that I have done unto you.

but we have lived in tents, and have listened, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

11 Be ye not afraid because of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid: have no fear of him, saith the Lord; for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you out of his hand.

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.

12 And I will give unto you mercy, that he may have mercy upon you, and let you return to your own land.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

13 But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so as not to hearken to the voice of the Lord your God,

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?

14 Saying, No; but into the land of Egypt will we go, that we may not see war, nor hear the sound of the cornet, and that we may not have hunger for bread; and there will we dwell;

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.

15 And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye will indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go thither to sojourn there:

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.

16 Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, there overtake you in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereof ye are in dread, shall there cleave close unto you in Egypt; and there shall ye die.

But the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command of their father; but this people has not listened to me.

17 So shall be all the men that have set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there, —they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and they shall have none that remaineth or escapeth from the evil that I am bringing over them.

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.

18 For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, As my anger and my fury were poured forth over the inhabitants of Jerusalem: so shall my fury be poured forth over you, when ye enter into Egypt; and ye shall become an oath, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a disgrace; and ye shall never see this place again.

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:

19 The Lord hath spoken concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah, “Ye shall not go into Egypt:” ye must know for certain that I have warned you this day.

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.

20 For ye have dissembled in regard to what your intentions are; for ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray in our behalf unto the Lord our God: and in accordance with all that the Lord our God may say, so tell unto us, and we will do it.

21 And I have told it to you this day; but ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord your God, and this in all with which he hath sent me unto you.

22 But now know for certain that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go to sojourn there.