Jeremiah 35
35
The Faithfulness of the Rechabites
1The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying,#Literally “to say” 2“Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring them to the house of Yahweh into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3So I took Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole of the house of the Rechabites, 4and I brought them to the house of Yahweh, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was beside the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.
5Then I set#Literally “gave” before#Literally “to the face of” the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6But they answered, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our ancestor,#Or “father” commanded us, saying,#Literally “to say” ‘You shall not drink wine, you or your children, forever.#Literally “until eternity” 7And you shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed, and you shall not plant a vineyard, and it shall not be for you, but in tents you shall live all your days, so that you may live many days on the surface of the land where you are dwelling as aliens.’ 8And we obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our ancestor,#Or “father” in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9and not to build houses for our living, and there is not vineyard, or field, or seed for us. 10But we have lived in tents, and we have obeyed, and we have done all that Jehonadab, our ancestor,#Or “father” commanded us. 11But then#Literally “And it was” at the coming up against the land of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, then we said, ‘Come and let us go to Jerusalem before#“from the face of” the army of the Chaldeans, and before#“from the face of” the army of the Arameans.’#Hebrew “Aramean” That is why we are living in Jerusalem.”
12And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying,#Literally “to say” 13“Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Can you not learn a lesson to listen to my words?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh. 14“The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, that he commanded his descendants#Or “children” to not drink, have been carried out, and they have not drunk until this day, for they have obeyed the command of their ancestor.#Or “father” But I have spoken to you over and over again,#Literally “I have spoken to you doing early and speaking” and you have not listened to me. 15And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, I have sent them over and over again,#Literally “doing early and sending” saying,#Literally “to say” ‘Turn back please each one from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and you must not go after other gods to serve them, so that you may live#Literally “and live” on the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’#Or “fathers” But you did not incline your ear and you did not listen to me. 16For the descendants#Or “children” of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have carried out the command of their ancestor#Or “father” that he commanded them, but this people did not listen to me.”
17Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am going to bring to Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem every disaster that I have spoken against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, and I have called to them and they have not answered.” ’ ” 18But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have listened to the command of Jonadab your ancestor,#Or “father” and you have kept all his commands, and you have done all that he commanded you,’ 19therefore#Literally “to thus” thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘A man will not be cut off for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, to stand before me#Literally “to the face of me” always.’ ”#Literally “all the days”
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Jeremiah 35
35
Learn a Lesson from the Rechabites
1 #
2 K 23.36—24.6; 2 Ch 36.5-7. When Jehoiakim#35.1 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3. was king of Judah, the Lord told me, 2“Go to the Rechabite clan and invite them to meet you in one of the side rooms#35.2 side rooms: Probably a room with walls on three sides, and open to the courtyard on the fourth side. of the temple. When they arrive, offer them a drink of wine.”
3So I went to Jaazaniah,#35.3 Jaazaniah: The Hebrew text has “Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah”; this is a different Jeremiah than the author of the book. the leader of the clan, and I invited him and all the men of his clan. 4I brought them into the temple courtyard and took them upstairs to a room belonging to the prophets who were followers of Hanan son of Igdaliah. It was next to a room belonging to some of the officials, and that room was over the one belonging to Maaseiah, a priest who was one of the high officials in the temple.#35.4 Maaseiah … temple: Hebrew “Maaseiah son of Shallum, the keeper of the temple door.”
5I set out some large bowls full of wine together with some cups, and then I said to the Rechabites, “Have some wine!”
6But they answered:
No! The ancestor of our clan, Jonadab son of Rechab,#35.6 Jonadab son of Rechab: See 2 Kings 10.15-23. In the Hebrew of this chapter, “Jonadab” is sometimes spelled “Jehonadab.” made a rule that we must obey. He said, “Don't ever drink wine 7or build houses or plant crops and vineyards. Instead, you must always live in tents and move from place to place. If you obey this command, you will live a long time.”
8-10Our clan has always obeyed Jonadab's command. To this very day, we and our wives and sons and daughters don't drink wine or build houses or plant vineyards or crops. And we have lived in tents, 11except now we have to live inside Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar#35.11 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. has taken over the countryside with his army from Babylonia and Syria.
12-13Then the Lord told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, want you to learn a lesson 14from the Rechabite clan. Their ancestor Jonadab told his descendants never to drink wine, and to this very day they have obeyed him. But I have spoken to you over and over, and you haven't obeyed me! 15You refused to listen to my prophets, who kept telling you, “Stop doing evil and worshiping other gods! Start obeying the Lord, and he will let you live in this land he gave your ancestors.”
16The Rechabites have obeyed the command of their ancestor Jonadab, but you have not obeyed me, 17your God. I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I warned you about the terrible things that would happen to you if you did not listen to me. But you have ignored me, so now disaster will strike you. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Makes a Promise to the Rechabites
18Then the Lord told me to say to the Rechabite clan:
“I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. You have obeyed your ancestor Jonadab, 19so I promise that your clan will be my servants and will never die out.”
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