Jeremiah
Chapter 35
1 God’s message came to Jeremiah when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, saying,
2 Go to the Rechabites’ house, talk to them, bring them to God’s house, into a room, and offer them wine to drink.
3 I brought Jaazaniah, son of Jeremiah, son of Habaziniah, his brothers, all his sons, and the whole Rechabite family.
4 I took them into God’s house, to the room of Hanan’s descendants, Igdaliah’s son, who was a man of God. This room was next to the rulers’ room and above Maaseiah son of Shallum’s room, who guarded the door.
5 I put pots full of wine and cups in front of the Rechabites’ sons and told them, “Drink the wine.”
6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, because Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, told us, ‘You and your sons must never drink wine.’”
7 Do not build houses, plant seeds, grow vineyards, or own them. But always live in tents, so you can live long in the land where you are visitors.
8 We have followed Jonadab, son of Rechab, our father’s command by not drinking wine at any time, not us, our wives, our sons, or our daughters.
9 We didn’t build houses to live in, and we don’t have vineyards, fields, or seeds.
10 We have lived in tents and followed and done everything that Jonadab our father told us to do.
11 But when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, invaded our land, we decided to go to Jerusalem to escape the Chaldeans’ and Syrians’ armies, and now we live in Jerusalem.
12 God spoke to Jeremiah, saying,
13 God, the ruler of all, says; Go and tell the people of Judah and Jerusalem, won’t you listen and follow my words? says God.
14 Jonadab, Rechab’s son, told his sons not to drink wine, and they don’t to this day. They follow their father’s rule, but even though I talked to you early and often, you didn’t listen to me.
15 I have also sent you all my prophets, telling them to get up early and go to you, saying, ‘Turn away from your bad ways, change what you do, and don’t follow other gods to worship them, so you can live in the land I gave to you and your ancestors.’ But you haven’t listened or paid attention to me.
16 Because Jonadab’s descendants followed their father’s command, but these people did not listen to me.
17 So this is what God, the God of Israel, says: I will bring all the bad things I said would happen to Judah and everyone in Jerusalem, because I spoke to them and they did not listen; I called to them and they did not answer.
18 Jeremiah told the Rechabites, “God says, ‘Because you have followed your ancestor Jonadab’s orders, keeping his rules and doing everything he commanded you:’”
19 So this is what God, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will always have a descendant to serve me.