1 T he word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,

This is the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

2 G o to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into Yahweh’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.

“Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them. Then bring them to one of the rooms of the house of the Lord, and give them wine to drink.”

3 T hen I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;

So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all those of the Rechabite family.

4 a nd I brought them into Yahweh’s house, into the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the room of the princes, which was above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.

And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, the man of God. This room was near the room of the leaders and above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the doorkeeper.

5 I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, Drink wine!

Then I set jars full of wine and some cups in front of the men of the Rechabite family. And I said to them, “Drink wine.”

6 B ut 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:

But they said, “We will not drink wine. For Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, told us, ‘You and your sons must never drink wine.

7 n either shall you build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land in which you live.

You must never build a house. You must never plant seeds. And you must never plant a grape-field or own one. But you must always live in tents. Then you will live many days in the land where you have come to.’

8 W e have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;

We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he told us. We, our wives, our sons, and our daughters, never drink wine.

9 n or to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

We have never built houses to live in, and we do not have grape-fields or fields or seeds to plant.

10 b ut we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

We have only lived in tents. We have obeyed, and have done all that our father Jonadab told us.

11 B ut when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, “Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we will dwell at Jerusalem.”

But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come and let us go to Jerusalem to get away from the armies of the Chaldeans and the Syrians.’ So we are living in Jerusalem.”

12 T hen Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,

Then the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

13 Y ahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go, and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words? says Yahweh.

“This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, “Will you not learn by listening to My words?” says the Lord.

14 T he words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me.

“The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, telling his sons not to drink wine, are obeyed. They do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not listened to Me.

15 I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and don’t 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 have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.

And again and again I have sent you all My servants who spoke for Me, saying, ‘Everyone turn now from your sinful way, and do what I tell you to do. Do not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and to your fathers before you. But you have not turned your ear to listen to Me.

16 B ecause the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me;

The sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have obeyed what their father told them, but these people have not listened to Me.’”’

17 t herefore Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.

So the Lord, the God of All, the God of Israel, says, ‘I am bringing on Judah and on all the people of Jerusalem all the trouble I have said would come upon them. For I spoke to them but they did not listen. I have called them but they did not answer.’”

18 J eremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you;

Then Jeremiah said to those of the Rechabite family, “This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed everything that Jonadab your father told you to do.

19 t herefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever.

And so the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Jonadab the son of Rechab will never be without a man to stand before Me.”’”