Jeremiah 35

Revised Geneva Translation

35 The Word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,

² “Go to the House of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into the House of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”

³ Then I took Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole House of the Rechabites,

⁴ 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 treasure.

⁵ And I set pots full of wine and cups before the sons of the House of the Rechabites, and said to them, “Drink wine.”

⁶ But they said, “We will drink no wine. For Jonadab, the son of Rechab our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, neither you nor your sons, forever.

⁷ ‘Nor shall you build house or sow seed or plant vineyard or have any of them. But you shall dwell in tents all your days, so that you may live a long time in the land where you are strangers.’

⁸ “Thus we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab our father, in all that he has charged us. And we never drink wine, neither we, our wives, our sons nor our daughters.

⁹ “Nor do we build houses for us to dwell in, nor do we have vineyard or field or seed.

¹⁰ “But we have remained in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

¹¹ “But when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, came up into the land, we said, ‘Come and let us go to Jerusalem, for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and of the army of Aram.’ So we dwell in Jerusalem.”

¹² Then came the Word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying,

¹³ “Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive doctrine to obey My Words,” says the LORD?

¹⁴ ‘The commandment of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons—that they should drink no wine—is surely kept. For to this day they drink none and obey their father’s commandment. Nevertheless, I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you would not obey Me.

¹⁵ ‘I have also sent all My servants the Prophets to you, rising up early and sending, saying, “Turn now every man from his evil way, and amend your works, and do not go after other gods, to serve them. And you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you, and to your fathers.” But you would not incline your ear, nor obey Me.

¹⁶ ‘Surely the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have kept the commandment of their father, which he gave them. But this people has not obeyed Me.’

¹⁷ “Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the misery that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them but they would not hear. And I have called to them, but they would not answer.’”

¹⁸ And Jeremiah said to the House of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he has commanded you,

¹⁹ ‘therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall not lack a man to stand before Me, forever.”’”