Top of Page
Page Style
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 to them, and bring them to the House of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”
3 So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons—the whole house of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the House of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. It was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set jars full of wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Drink some wine.”
6 But they replied, “We will drink no wine, for our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab, commanded: ‘You must never drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. 7 Nor will you build a house, sow seed, or plant a vineyard. You must not have any of these things, but all your days you will live in tents, so you may live a long time in the land where you are nomads’. 8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, son of our forefather Rechab, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days—we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters. 9 Nor did we build houses to live in, and we have no vineyard, or field, or seed. 10 But we have lived in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our forefather commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, we said, ‘Come, let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Arameans’. 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 tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction and obey My words?” declares the Lord. 14 “The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been carried out. For he commanded his sons not to drink wine, and to this day they drink none, because they obey their forefather’s command. But although I have spoken to you again and again, you have not obeyed Me. 15 Again and again I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming, ‘Turn now each one of you from your evil ways, and do not go after other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land that I have given to you and to your fathers’. But you have not inclined your ear or obeyed Me. 16 The descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the command that their forefathers gave them, but these people have not obeyed Me” ’.
17 “Therefore, This is what the Lord God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am going to bring upon Judah and upon all the people of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they have not answered’.”
18 Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab, and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, 19 therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have man to stand before Me forever” ’.”