1 ARST Several years earlier, when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was the king of Judah, Yahweh gave me this message: BSB BSB: This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
2 ARST “Go to the place where families of the Rekab clan live. Invite them to my temple. When they arrive, take them into one of the inside rooms and offer them some wine.” BSB BSB: “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the house of the LORD to offer them a drink of wine.”
3 ARST So I went to see Jaazaniah and all his brothers and sons who represented the Rekab clan. Jaazaniah was a son of another man named Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah. BSB BSB: So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites—
4 ARST I took them to the temple, and we went into the room where the sons of Igdaliah’ s son Hanan, who was a prophet, stayed. That room was next to the room that was used by the men who were in charge of the entrances to the temple. It was above the room that belonged to Maaseiah, who was the temple gatekeeper and the son of Shallum. BSB BSB: and I brought them into the house of the LORD, to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper.
5 ARST I set jugs of wine and some cups in front of them and urged them to drink some, BSB BSB: Then I set pitchers full of wine and some cups before the men of the house of the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Drink some wine.”
6 ARST but they refused. They said,“We do not drink wine, because our ancestor Jonadab son of Rekab, commanded us, saying‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. BSB BSB: “We do not drink wine,” they replied, “for our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘Neither you nor your descendants are ever to drink wine.
7 ARST And you must not build houses or plant vineyards or other crops. Instead, you must always live in tents. If you obey those commands, you all will live for many years in this land.’ BSB BSB: Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’
8 ARST So we have obeyed him in all those matters. We have never drunk wine. Our wives and our sons and our daughters have also never drunk wine. BSB BSB: And we have obeyed the voice of our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab in all he commanded us. So we have not drunk wine all our lives—neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters.
9 ARST We have not built houses or planted vineyards or other crops or worked in fields. BSB BSB: Nor have we built houses in which to live, and we have not owned any vineyards or fields or crops.
10 ARST We have lived in tents. We have obeyed all the commands that Jonadab, our ancestor, gave us. BSB BSB: But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done exactly as our forefather Jonadab commanded us.
11 ARST But when the army of King Nebuchadnezzar attacked this country, we said,‘We must go to Jerusalem to escape from the armies of Babylonia and Aram.’ So, we came to Jerusalem and we are living here.” BSB BSB: So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”
12 ARST Then Yahweh gave this message to me: BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
13 ARST “This is what I, Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, say:‘Go and tell this to the people in Jerusalem and in other places in Judah:“Why do you not listen to me or learn something about how to obey me? BSB BSB: “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: ‘Will you not accept discipline and obey My words?’ declares the LORD.
14 ARST The Rekab clan still do not drink wine, because their ancestor Jonadab told them to not do that. In contrast, I have spoken to you many times, but you ignored me and refused to obey me. BSB BSB: The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk it to this very day because they have obeyed the command of their forefather. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not obeyed Me!
15 ARST Many times I sent prophets to you. They told you,‘Turn away from your wicked behavior, and do things that you should do. Stop worshiping other gods, in order that you will be able to live peacefully in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.’ But you would not pay attention to what I said or obey me. BSB BSB: Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.
16 ARST The descendants of Jonadab have obeyed their ancestor, but you have refused to pay attention to what I told you. BSB BSB: Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not listened to Me.
17 ARST Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, say:‘You have refused to listen to me and you did not answer when I called you. Therefore, I will cause the people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah to experience all the disasters that I said that I would cause to happen.’”’” BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster 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 ARST Then Jeremiah turned to the Rekab clan and said,“This is what Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, says:‘You have obeyed what your ancestor Jonadab told you. You have obeyed all his instructions. BSB BSB: 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 have kept all his commandments and have done all that he charged you to do,
19 ARST Therefore, this is what Yahweh says:“There will always be descendants of Jonadab who will do work for me.”’” BSB BSB: this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before Me.’”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.