Jeremiah

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

1This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah.

2Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

2The LORD said, "Go to the family of the Rechabites. Talk with them, and bring them into a side room of the LORD's temple. Then offer them wine to drink."

3Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;

3So I went and got Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, along with his brothers and all his sons. I brought the whole Rechabite family.

4And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:

4I brought them into the LORD's temple, into the room used by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. That room was next to the room of the officials and above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, who guarded the door.

5And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.

5I set pitchers full of wine and some cups in front of the men of the Rechabite family. I said to them, "Have some wine."

6But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:

6But they said, "We do not drink wine. Our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab gave us this rule: 'You and your children must never drink wine.

Note"Our father" in the older wording means their ancestor, not their living dad. Jonadab lived about 250 years before this.

7Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.

7You must not build a house, plant seed, or plant a vineyard. You must not own any of those things. Instead, live in tents all your lives. Then you will live a long time in the land where you move about as strangers.'

Note"Nor have any" means they were not to own such things at all. They were to keep living as wanderers in tents.

8Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;

8We have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab told us. We have never drunk wine, and neither have our wives, our sons, or our daughters.

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

9We have not built houses to live in, and we own no vineyards, no fields, and no crops.

10But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

10We have lived in tents. We have obeyed and done exactly what our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.

11But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that 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 dwell at Jerusalem.

11But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into this land, we said, 'Come, let's go into Jerusalem to get away from the Babylonian army and the Aramean army.' That is why we are living in Jerusalem."

12Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

12Then the LORD's message came to Jeremiah:

13Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.

13"This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, 'Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?' says the LORD.

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

14Jonadab son of Rechab told his sons not to drink wine, and his words have been kept. To this day they drink none, because they obey what their ancestor commanded. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not listened to me.

15I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.

15I also sent you all my servants the prophets, again and again. They said, 'Each of you, turn away from your evil ways. Change how you act. Do not follow other gods and serve them. Then you can stay in the land I gave to you and your fathers.' But you would not listen, and you paid no attention to me.

16Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:

16The sons of Jonadab son of Rechab have kept the command their ancestor gave them, but these people have not listened to me.

17Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

17So this is what the LORD God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone in Jerusalem all the trouble I said I would send. I spoke to them and they did not listen. I called to them and they did not answer."

18And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:

18Then Jeremiah said to the Rechabite family, "This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab. You have kept all his rules and done everything he told you to do.

19Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

19So this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will always have a descendant to serve me."

Note"Shall not want a man to stand before me" does not mean wanting something. "Want" here means lack, so it means his family will never run out of someone to serve God.