35:1 The LORD spoke to Jeremiah when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.¹ He said,² 35:2 “Go to the Rechabite community.³ Invite them to come into one of the side rooms⁴ of the temple of the LORD and offer them some wine to drink.” 35:3 So I went and got Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the grandson of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and all the rest of the Rechabite community. 35:4 I took them to the temple of the LORD. I took them into the room where the disciples of the prophet Hanan son of Igdaliah stayed.⁵ That room was next to the one where the temple officers stayed and above the room where Maaseiah son of Shallum one of the doorkeepers⁶ of the temple stayed. 35:5 Then I set cups and pitchers full of wine in front of the members of the Rechabite community and said to them, “Have some wine.”⁷ 35:6 But they answered, “We don’t drink wine because our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us not to. He told us, ‘You and your children must never drink wine. 35:7 Don’t build houses. Don’t plant crops. Don’t plant a vineyard or own one.⁸ Live in tents all your lives. If you do these things you will⁹ live a long time in the land that you wander about on.’¹⁰ 35:8 We and our wives and our sons and daughters have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. We have never drunk wine.¹¹ 35:9 We haven’t built any houses to live in. We don’t own any vineyards, fields, or crops. 35:10 We have lived in tents. We have obeyed our ancestor Jonadab and done exactly as he commanded us.¹² 35:11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land we said, ‘Let’s get up and go to Jerusalem to get away from the Babylonian¹³ and Aramean armies.’ That is why we are staying here in Jerusalem.”

35:12 Then the LORD spoke to Jeremiah. 35:13 The LORD God of Israel who rules over all¹⁴ told him, “Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them,¹⁵ ‘I, the LORD, ask,¹⁶ “Won’t you learn a lesson from this¹⁷ about obeying what I say?” 35:14 Jonadab son of Rechab ordered his descendants not to drink wine. And his orders have been carried out.¹⁸ To this day his descendants haven’t drunk wine because they have obeyed what their ancestor commanded them. But I¹⁹ have spoken to you over and over again²⁰ and you haven’t obeyed me. 35:15 I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again.²¹ They said, “Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right.²² Don’t pay allegiance to other gods²³ and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.” But you didn’t pay any attention or listen to me. 35:16 Yes,²⁴ the descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the orders that their ancestor gave them. But you people²⁵ have not listened to me. 35:17 So, I, the LORD, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel say,²⁶ “I will soon bring on Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem all the disaster that I threatened to bring on them. I will do this because I spoke to them but they didn’t listen. I called out to them but they didn’t answer.”’”

35:18 Then Jeremiah spoke to the Rechabite community. He said, “The LORD God of Israel who rules over all²⁷ says, ‘You have obeyed the orders of your ancestor Jonadab. You have followed all his instructions. You have done exactly as he commanded you.’ 35:19 So the LORD God of Israel who rules over all²⁸ says, ‘Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a male descendant to serve me.’”²⁹