Jeremiah 35

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

2 “Go to the family of the Rekabites and speak with them. Then bring them to my house, into one of the rooms there, and give them wine to drink.”

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

3 So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah and his brothers, all his sons, and all the family of the Rekabites.

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 I took them to the house of Yahweh, into the rooms of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the man of God. These rooms were beside the room of the leaders, which was above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the gatekeeper.

And I brought them into the house of the LORD, 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 Then I placed bowls and cups full of wine in front of the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.

6 But they said, “We will not drink any wine, for our ancestor, Jonadab son of Rekab, commanded us, 'Do not drink any wine, neither you nor your descendants, forever.

But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, [neither ye], nor your sons for ever:

7 Also, do not build any houses, sow any seeds, or plant any vineyards; this is not for you. For you must live in tents all your days, so that you might live many days in the land where you are staying as foreigners.'

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 many days in the land where ye [be] strangers.

8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab son of Rekab, our ancestor, in all that he commanded us, to never drink wine all of our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters.

Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;

9 We will never build houses to live in, and there will be no vineyard, field, or seed in our possession.

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

10 We have lived in tents and we have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our ancestor commanded us.

But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked the land, we said, 'Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape from the Chaldean and Aramean armies.' So we are living in Jerusalem.”

But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar 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 Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.

12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying,

Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

13 “Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive correction and listen to my words? —this is Yahweh's declaration.

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

14 The words of Jonadab son of Rekab that he gave to his sons as a command, not to drink any wine, have been observed to this very day. They have obeyed their ancestor's command. But as for me, I myself have been making persistent proclamations to you, but you do not listen to me.

The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.

15 I sent out to you all my servants, the prophets. I was persistent in sending them to say, 'Let each person turn from his wicked way and do good deeds; let no one walk any longer after other gods and worship them. Instead, come back to the land that I gave to you and your ancestors.' Yet you will not listen to me or pay attention to me.

I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending [them], saying, Return ye now every man 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 unto me.

16 For the descendants of Jonadab son of Rekab have observed the commands of their ancestor that he gave them, but this people refuses to listen to me.”'

Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:

17 So Yahweh, God of hosts and God of Israel, says this, 'Look, I am bringing upon Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem, all the disasters I pronounced against them because I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.'”

Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

18 Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: You have listened to the commands of Jonadab your ancestor and have kept them all—you have obeyed all that he commanded you to do—

And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:

19 so Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'There will always be someone descended from Jonadab son of Rekab to serve me.'”

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.