Jeremiah 35
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:
2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them. Bring them to the house of the LORD, to one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.”
3 So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, his brothers, all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites.
4 I brought them to the house of the LORD, to the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. That room was beside the room of the officials, above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.
5 I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine and cups, and said to them, “Drink wine.”
6 But they said, “We do not drink wine, because Jonadab son of Rechab, our father, gave us this command: ‘You and your children must never drink wine.
7 You must not build houses, sow seed, or plant vineyards. You must own none of these things. Live in tents all your days, so that you may live many days in the land where you are staying as foreigners.’
8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab son of Rechab, our father, in everything he commanded us: we have not drunk wine all our days—not we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters.
9 We have not built houses to live in, and we have no vineyard, field, or seed.
10 We have lived in tents; we have obeyed and done everything our father Jonadab commanded us.”
11 “But when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of Aram.’ So we have been living in Jerusalem.”
12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
13 “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not accept correction and listen to my words?’ says the LORD.
14 “The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been upheld: he commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk any to this day, because they obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not listened to me.
15 I have sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, ‘Please turn, each of you, from your evil ways; mend your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them; and live in the land I gave to you and your ancestors.’ But you paid no attention and did not listen to me.
16 The sons of Jonadab son of Rechab have kept the command their father gave them, but this people has not listened to me.
17 “Therefore this is what the LORD, God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Look, I am about to bring on Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem every disaster I have spoken against them, because I spoke to them and they did not listen; I called to them and they did not answer.’”
18 Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your father Jonadab, kept all his commands, and done everything he ordered you.’”
19 “Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a man to stand before me all the days.’”
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