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35 The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, saying:

`Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and thou hast spoken with them, and brought them into the house of Jehovah, unto one of the chambers, and caused them to drink wine.'

And I take Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and all the house of the Rechabites,

and bring them into the house of Jehovah, unto the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God, that [is] near to the chamber of the princes, that [is] above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold;

and I put before the sons of the house of the Rechabites goblets full of wine, and cups, and I say unto them, Drink ye wine.

And they say, `We do not drink wine: for Jonadab son of Rechab, our father, charged us, saying, Ye do not drink wine, ye and your sons -- unto the age;

and a house ye do not build, and seed ye do not sow, and a vineyard ye do not plant, nor have ye any; for in tents do ye dwell all your days, that ye may live many days on the face of the ground whither ye are sojourning.

`And we hearken to the voice of Jonadab son of Rechab, our father, to all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters;

nor to build houses for our dwelling; and vineyard, and field, and seed, we have none;

10 and we dwell in tents, and we hearken, and we do according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us;

11 and it cometh to pass, in the coming up of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon unto the land, that we say, Come, and we enter Jerusalem, because of the force of the Chaldeans, and because of the force of Aram -- and we dwell in Jerusalem.'

12 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying: `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel:

13 `Go, and thou hast said to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Do ye not receive instruction? -- to hearken unto My words -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

14 Performed have been the words of Jonadab son of Rechab, when he commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk unto this day, for they have obeyed the command of their father; and I -- I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking, and ye have not hearkened unto Me.

15 And I send unto you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending, saying: Turn back, I pray you, each from his evil way, and amend your doings, yea, ye do not walk after other gods, to serve them, and dwell ye on the ground that I have given to you and to your fathers; and ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto Me.

16 `Because the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab have performed the command of their father, that he commanded them, and this people have not hearkened unto Me,

17 therefore thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am bringing in unto Judah, and unto all inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil that I have spoken against them, because I have spoken unto them, and they have not hearkened, yea, I call to them, and they have not answered.'

18 And to the house of the Rechabites said Jeremiah: `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Because that ye have hearkened unto the command of Jonadab your father, and ye observe all his commands, and do according to all that he commanded you;

19 therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Of Jonadab son of Rechab one standing before me is not cut off all the days.'

36 And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying:

`Take to thee a roll of a book, and thou hast written on it all the words that I have spoken unto thee concerning Israel, and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day;

if so be the house of Israel do hear all the evil that I am thinking of doing to them, so that they turn back each from is evil way, and I have been propitious to their iniquity, and to their sin.'

And Jeremiah calleth Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch writeth from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, that He hath spoken unto him, on a roll of a book.

And Jeremiah commandeth Baruch, saying, `I am restrained, I am not able to enter the house of Jehovah;

but thou hast entered -- and thou hast read in the roll that thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah, in the ears of the people, in the house of Jehovah, in the day of the fast, and also in the ears of all Judah who are coming in from their cities thou dost read them;

if so be their supplication doth fall before Jehovah, and they turn back each from his evil way, for great [is] the anger and the fury that Jehovah hath spoken concerning this people.'

And Baruch son of Neriah doth according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, to read in the book the words of Jehovah in the house of Jehovah.

And it cometh to pass, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah have all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who are coming in from cities of Judah to Jerusalem;

10 and Baruch readeth in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the opening of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people.

11 And Michaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heareth all the words of Jehovah from off the book,

12 and he goeth down [to] the house of the king, unto the chamber of the scribe, and lo, there are all the heads sitting: Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan son of Acbor, and Gemariah son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the heads.

13 And declare to them doth Micaiah all the words that he hath heard, when Baruch readeth in the book in the ears of the people;

14 and all the heads send unto Baruch, Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, `The roll in which thou hast read in the ears of the people take in thy hand, and come.' And Baruch son of Neriah taketh the roll in his hand and cometh in unto them,

15 and they say unto him, `Sit down, we pray thee, and read it in our ears,' and Baruch readeth in their ears,

16 and it cometh to pass, when they hear all the words, they have been afraid one at another, and say unto Baruch, `We do surely declare to the king all these words.'

17 And they asked Baruch, saying, `Declare, we pray thee, to us, how didst thou write all these words -- from his mouth?'

18 And Baruch saith to them, `From his mouth, he pronounceth unto me all these words, and I am writing on the book with ink.'

19 And the heads say unto Baruch, `Go, be hidden, thou and Jeremiah, and let no one know where ye [are].'

20 And they go in unto the king, to the court, and the roll they have laid up in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they declare in the ears of the king all the words.

21 And the king sendeth Jehudi to take the roll, and he taketh it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Jehudi readeth it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the heads who are standing by the king;

22 and the king is sitting in the winter-house, in the ninth month, and the stove before him is burning,

23 and it cometh to pass, when Jehudi readeth three or four leaves, he cutteth it out with the scribe's knife, and hath cast unto the fire, that [is] on the stove, till the consumption of all the roll by the fire that [is] on the stove.

24 And the king and all his servants who are hearing all these words have not been afraid, nor rent their garments.

25 And also Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah have interceded with the king not to burn the roll, and he hath not hearkened unto them.

26 And the king commandeth Jerahmeel son of Hammelek, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Jehovah doth hide them.

27 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah -- after the king's burning the roll, even the words that Baruch hath written from the mouth of Jeremiah -- saying:

28 `Turn, take to thee another roll, and write on it all the former words that were on the first roll, that Jehoiakim king of Judah burnt,

29 and unto Jehoiakim king of Judah thou dost say: Thus said Jehovah, Thou hast burnt this roll, saying, Wherefore hast thou written on it, saying, The king of Babylon surely cometh in, and hath destroyed this land, and caused to cease from it man and beast?

30 `Therefore, thus said Jehovah, concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He hath none sitting on the throne of David, and his carcase is cast out to heat by day, and to cold by night;

31 and I have charged on him, and on his seed, and on his servants, their iniquity; and I have brought in on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto the men of Judah, all the evil that I have spoken unto them, and they hearkened not.'

32 And Jeremiah hath taken another roll, and giveth it unto Baruch son of Neriah the scribe, and he writeth on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah hath burnt in the fire; and again there were added unto them many words like these.

The Rekabites

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim(A) son of Josiah king of Judah: “Go to the Rekabite(B) family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms(C) of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.(D) It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum(E) the doorkeeper.(F) Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab[a](G) son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.(H) Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents.(I) Then you will live a long time in the land(J) where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather(K) Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.(L) 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded(M) this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem(N) to escape the Babylonian[b] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell(O) the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson(P) and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.(Q) But I have spoken to you again and again,(R) yet you have not obeyed(S) me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets(T) to you. They said, “Each of you must turn(U) from your wicked ways and reform(V) your actions; do not follow other gods(W) to serve them. Then you will live in the land(X) I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened(Y) to me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather(Z) gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster(AA) I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen;(AB) I called to them, but they did not answer.’”(AC)

18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather(AD) Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail(AE) to have a descendant to serve(AF) me.’”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim(AG) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Take a scroll(AH) and write on it all the words(AI) I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah(AJ) till now. Perhaps(AK) when the people of Judah hear(AL) about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn(AM) from their wicked ways; then I will forgive(AN) their wickedness and their sin.”

So Jeremiah called Baruch(AO) son of Neriah,(AP) and while Jeremiah dictated(AQ) all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.(AR) Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting(AS) and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated.(AT) Read them to all the people of Judah(AU) who come in from their towns. Perhaps they will bring their petition(AV) before the Lord and will each turn(AW) from their wicked ways, for the anger(AX) and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”

Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. In the ninth month(AY) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting(AZ) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah(BA) son of Shaphan(BB) the secretary,(BC) which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate(BD) of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.

11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s(BE) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan(BF) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.(BG) 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi(BH) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll(BI) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear(BJ) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write(BK) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated(BL) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

19 Then the officials(BM) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.(BN) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi(BO) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king(BP) and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,(BQ) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,(BR) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.(BS) 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,(BT) nor did they tear their clothes.(BU) 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah(BV) and Gemariah(BW) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest(BX) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden(BY) them.

27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,(BZ) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll(CA) and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it(CB) both man and beast?”(CC) 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim(CD) king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out(CE) and exposed(CF) to the heat by day and the frost by night.(CG) 31 I will punish him and his children(CH) and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster(CI) I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.(CJ)’”

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,(CK) Baruch wrote(CL) on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned(CM) in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter
  2. Jeremiah 35:11 Or Chaldean