¶ The word¹ which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the² days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

Go unto the house³ of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one⁴ of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah⁵, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;

And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber⁶ of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man⁷ of God, which was by the chamber of the princes⁸, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper⁹ of the door¹⁰:

And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink¹¹ ye wine.

But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab¹² the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall¹³ drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:

Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all¹⁶ your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.

¹⁷Thus 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;

¹⁸Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

¶¹⁹But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

But it came to pass, when²⁰ Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come²¹, 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.

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

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will²² ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.

The words²³ 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, rising²⁴ early and speaking; but ye²⁵ hearkened not unto me.

I have²⁶ sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return²⁷ ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell²⁸ in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have²⁹ not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.

³⁰Because 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:

Therefore³¹ thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold,³² I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because³³ I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because³⁴ ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab³⁵ the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand³⁶ before me for ever.