Then I set cups and pitchers full of wine in front of the members of the Rechabite community and said to them, &#8220;Have some wine.&#8221;<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;So tell them,<n id="1" /> &#8216;The <sc>Lord,sc> the God of Israel, says, &#8220;Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.&#8221;&#8217;<n id="2" /> And they will probably say to you, &#8216;Do you not think we know<n id="3" /> that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?&#8217;

But they answered, &#8220;We do not drink wine because our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us not to. He told us, &#8216;You and your children must never drink wine.

<t /><p class="poetry">Here is what the <sc>Lordsc> says concerning the false prophets:<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">My heart and my mind are deeply disturbed.p> <p class="poetry">I tremble all over.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">I am like a drunk person,p> <p class="poetry">like a person who has had too much wine,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">because of the way the <sc>Lordsc>p> <p class="poetry">and his holy word are being mistreated.<n id="5" />p>

&#8220;Go to the Rechabite community.<n id="1" /> Invite them to come into one of the side rooms<n id="2" /> of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple and offer them some wine to drink.&#8221;

We and our wives and our sons and daughters have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. We have never drunk wine.<n id="1" />

I for my part will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians<n id="1" /> whenever they come to us. You for your part go ahead and harvest the wine, the dates, the figs,<n id="2" /> and the olive oil, and store them in jars. Go ahead and settle down in the towns that you have taken over.&#8221;<n id="3" />

So all these Judeans returned to the land of Judah from the places where they had been scattered. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. Thus they harvested a large amount of wine and dates and figs.<n id="1" />p>

Jonadab son of Rechab ordered his descendants not to drink wine. His orders have been carried out.<n id="1" /> To this day his descendants have drunk no wine because they have obeyed what their ancestor commanded them. But I<n id="2" /> have spoken to you over and over again,<n id="3" /> but you have not obeyed me!