Jeremiah 42
A Family That Kept Its Father’s Word
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The Sons of Rechab Brought to the House
42:1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim king of Judah:
42:2Go to the house of the Rechabites. Bring them into the Lord’s house, into one of the courts, and give them wine to drink.
42:3I brought out Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah, his brothers, his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites.
42:4I brought them into the Lord’s house, into the chamber of the sons of Hananiah son of Gedaliah, the man of God. It is near the house of the rulers above the house of Maaseiah son of Shallum, who guards the court.
The Jar of Wine Set Before Them
42:5I set before them an earthenware jar of wine and cups, and said, Drink wine.
42:6They said, We certainly will not drink wine, because Jonadab son of Rechab, our father, commanded us: Neither you nor your sons must ever drink wine.
42:7You must not build a house or sow seed, and you must not have a vineyard. You must live in tents all your days, so that you may live many days on the land where you spend your time.
42:8We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab our father by not drinking wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters,
42:9and by not building houses to live there. We have had no vineyard, field, or sown crop.
42:10We lived in tents, obeying and doing everything Jonadab our father commanded us.
42:11When Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land, we said, Come in, let us enter Jerusalem to escape the Chaldean force and the Assyrian force. So we were living there.
42:12The Lord’s word came to me:
Go and Say to the People of Judah
42:13Thus says the Lord: Go and say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem’s inhabitants, Will you really not accept discipline and hear My words?
42:14Jonadab son of Rechab’s sons upheld the word he commanded his children, not to drink wine, and they drank none. Yet I spoke to you from early morning and kept speaking, and you did not listen.
42:15I sent you My servants the prophets, saying, Each of you, turn from his evil way and improve your practices. Do not follow other gods to serve them, and you will live on the land I gave you and your fathers. But you did not incline your ears or listen.
42:16The sons of Jonadab son of Rechab upheld their father’s command, but this people did not obey Me.
I Am Bringing upon Judah
42:17Therefore thus said the Lord: I am bringing upon Judah and Jerusalem’s inhabitants all the calamities I pronounced against them.
42:18Therefore thus said the Lord: Because the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab obeyed their father’s command, doing as their father commanded them,
42:19there will certainly never fail a man from the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab standing before Me all the earth’s days.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.