The Daily Audio Bible

The Rechabites

35 This is the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them. Then bring them to one of the rooms of the house of the Lord, and give them wine to drink.” ³ So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all those of the Rechabite family. ⁴ And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, the man of God. This room was near the room of the leaders and above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the doorkeeper. ⁵ Then I set jars full of wine and some cups in front of the men of the Rechabite family. And I said to them, “Drink wine.” ⁶ But they said, “We will not drink wine. For Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, told us, ‘You and your sons must never drink wine. ⁷ You must never build a house. You must never plant seeds. And you must never plant a grape-field or own one. But you must always live in tents. Then you will live many days in the land where you have come to.’ ⁸ We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he told us. We, our wives, our sons, and our daughters, never drink wine. ⁹ We have never built houses to live in, and we do not have grape-fields or fields or seeds to plant. ¹⁰ We have only lived in tents. We have obeyed, and have done all that our father Jonadab told us. ¹¹ But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come and let us go to Jerusalem to get away from the armies of the Chaldeans and the Syrians.’ So we are living in Jerusalem.”

¹² Then the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, “Will you not learn by listening to My words?” says the Lord. ¹⁴ “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, telling his sons not to drink wine, are obeyed. They do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not listened to Me. ¹⁵ And again and again I have sent you all My servants who spoke for Me, saying, ‘Everyone turn now from your sinful way, and do what I tell you to do. Do not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and to your fathers before you. But you have not turned your ear to listen to Me. ¹⁶ The sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have obeyed what their father told them, but these people have not listened to Me.’”’ ¹⁷ So the Lord, the God of All, the God of Israel, says, ‘I am bringing on Judah and on all the people of Jerusalem all the trouble I have said would come upon them. For I spoke to them but they did not listen. I have called them but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to those of the Rechabite family, “This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed everything that Jonadab your father told you to do. ¹⁹ And so the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Jonadab the son of Rechab will never be without a man to stand before Me.”’”

Baruch Reads the Book in the House of God

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Take a book and write in it all the words which I have said to you about Israel, Judah, and all the nations. Write all I have said since the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. ³ It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the trouble I am planning to bring on them, so that everyone will turn from his sinful way. Then I will forgive their wrong-doing and their sin.”

⁴ So Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah. And Baruch wrote in the book all the words which Jeremiah told him that the Lord had said to him. ⁵ Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, “I am shut up here and cannot go into the house of the Lord. ⁶ So you go to the Lord’s house on the special day of no food, and read to the people the words of the Lord which you have written down as I told them to you. And also read them to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. ⁷ It may be that their prayer will come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his sinful way. For the punishment that the Lord said would come to these people because of His anger is very bad.” ⁸ Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the man of God told him. He read from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹ In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, all the people in Jerusalem and all those from the cities of Judah set apart to the Lord a day when they would not eat. ¹⁰ Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah to all the people in the house of the Lord, in the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the writer, in the upper place by the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

The Book Is Read to the Leaders

¹¹ When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹² he went down to the king’s house, into the writer’s room. And he saw that all the leaders were sitting there. There was Elishama the writer, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other leaders. ¹³ And Micaiah told them all that he had heard Baruch read to the people from the book. ¹⁴ Then all the leaders sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take the book you have read to the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the book in his hand and went to them. ¹⁵ They told him, “Sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. ¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned in fear to one another and said to Baruch, “For sure we will tell all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ And they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you write all this? Did Jeremiah tell it to you?” ¹⁸ Baruch said to them, “He told me all these words, and I wrote them down in the book.” ¹⁹ Then the leaders said to Baruch, “Go and hide, both you and Jeremiah. And do not let anyone know where you are.”

The King Burns Jeremiah’s Book

²⁰ So they went to the king in the open space, but they had put the book in the room of Elishama the writer. And they told all the words to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the book, and he took it out of the room of Elishama the writer. And Jehudi read it to the king and to all the leaders who stood beside him. ²² It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house with a fire burning in the fireplace in front of him. ²³ When Jehudi had read three or four parts, the king cut them with a small knife and threw them into the fire in the fireplace. He did this until the book was destroyed in the fire. ²⁴ The king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, and they did not tear their clothes. ²⁵ Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the book, but he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king told Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to take hold of Baruch the writer and Jeremiah the man of God. But the Lord had hidden them.

Jeremiah Writes Another Book

²⁷ Now the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the book with the words Jeremiah had told Baruch to write down. The Lord said, ²⁸ “Take another book and write in it all the words that were in the first book which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. ²⁹ And about Jehoiakim the king of Judah you will say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have burned this book, saying, ‘Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will be sure to come and destroy this land and put an end to every man and animal in it?’” ³⁰ So this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He will have no one to sit on the throne of David. And his dead body will be thrown out to the heat of the day and the cold of the night. ³¹ I will punish him and his children and his servants for their sin. And I will bring on them and the people of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the trouble that I have said would come to them, because they would not listen.”’” ³² Then Jeremiah took another book and gave it to Baruch the son of Neraiah, the writer. And as Jeremiah told them to him, he wrote down all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many words of the same kind were added to them.

Teaching About Women Whose Husbands Have Died

5 Do not speak sharp words to an older man. Talk with him as if he were a father. Talk to younger men as brothers. ² Talk to older women as mothers. Talk to younger women as sisters, keeping yourself pure. ³ Help women whose husbands have died. ⁴ If a woman whose husband has died has children or grandchildren, they are the ones to care for her. In that way, they can pay back to their parents the kindness that has been shown to them. God is pleased when this is done. ⁵ Women whose husbands have died are alone in this world. Their trust is in the Lord. They pray day and night. ⁶ But the one who lives only for the joy she can receive from this world is the same as dead even if she is alive.

⁷ Teach these things so they will do what is right. ⁸ Anyone who does not take care of his family and those in his house has turned away from the faith. He is worse than a person who has never put his trust in Christ. ⁹ A woman over sixty years old whose husband has died may receive help from the church. To receive this help, she must have been the wife of one man. ¹⁰ She must be known for doing good things for people and for being a good mother. She must be known for taking strangers into her home and for washing the feet of Christians. She must be known for helping those who suffer and for showing kindness.

¹¹ Do not write the names of younger women whose husbands have died together with the names of others who need help. They will turn away from Christ because of wanting to get married again. ¹² Then they would be thought of as guilty of breaking their first promise. ¹³ They will waste their time. They will go from house to house carrying stories. They will find fault with people and say things they should not talk about. ¹⁴ I think it is best for younger women whose husbands have died to get married. They should have children and care for their own homes. Then no one can speak against them. ¹⁵ Some of these women have already turned away to follow Satan. ¹⁶ If you have any women whose husbands have died in your family, you must care for them. The church should not have to help them. The church can help women whose husbands have died who are all alone in this world and have no one else to help them.

Teaching About Leaders

¹⁷ Leaders who do their work well should be given twice as much pay, and for sure, those who work hard preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ The Holy Writings say, “When a cow is walking on the grain to break it open, do not stop it from eating some” ^(A), and “A person who works should be paid.” ^(B)

¹⁹ Do not listen to what someone says against a church leader unless two or three persons say the same thing. ²⁰ Show those who keep on sinning where they are wrong in front of the whole church. Then others will be afraid of sinning. ²¹ I tell you from my heart that you must follow these rules without deciding before the truth is known. God and Jesus Christ and the chosen angels know what I am saying. Show favors to no one. ²² Do not be in a hurry about choosing a church leader. You do not want to have any part in other men’s sins. Keep yourself pure.

²³ Do not drink water only. Use a little wine because of your stomach and because you are sick so often.

²⁴ The sins of some men can be seen. Their sins go before them and make them guilty. The sins of other men will be seen later. ²⁵ In the same way, good works are easy to see now. But some that are not easy to be seen cannot always be hid.

¹⁴ Your throne stands on what is right and fair. Loving-kindness and truth go before You. ¹⁵ How happy are the people who know the sound of joy! They walk in the light of Your face, O Lord. ¹⁶ They are full of joy in Your name all day long. And by being right with You, they are honored. ¹⁷ For You are the shining-greatness of their strength. And our horn is lifted high by Your favor. ¹⁸ For our safe-covering belongs to the Lord. And our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Once You spoke in a special dream to Your faithful ones, saying: “I have given help to a powerful one. I have honored a chosen one from among the people. ²⁰ I have found David, Your servant. I have poured My holy oil upon him. ²¹ My hand will stay with him. And My arm will give him strength. ²² Those who hate him will not fool him. No sinful man will bring trouble to him. ²³ But he will see Me crush those who fight against him. I will kill those who hate him. ²⁴ I will be faithful and My loving-kindness will be with him. And in My name he will become great. ²⁵ I will set his hand on the sea also, and his right hand on the rivers. ²⁶ He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock that saves me.’ ²⁷ I will make him My first-born also, the highest of the kings of the earth. ²⁸ I will keep My loving-kindness for him forever. And My agreement with him will be made strong. ²⁹ I will make his seed last forever. And his throne will last as long as heaven.

³⁰ “If his sons leave My Law and do not do what I say, ³¹ and if they break My Laws and do not obey My Word, ³² then I will punish their sin with the stick, and their wrong-doing with the whip. ³³ But I will not take my loving-kindness from him. I will always be faithful to him. ³⁴ I will not break My agreement, or change what was spoken by My lips. ³⁵ Once I have promised by My holy name, I will not lie to David. ³⁶ His seed will last forever. And his throne will last before Me like the sun. ³⁷ It will last forever like the moon, which may always be seen in the sky.”

²⁵ Good news from a land far away is like cold water to a tired soul.

²⁶ A man who does what is right but gives way in front of the sinful, is like a well of mud or poisoned water.

²⁷ It is not good to eat much honey, and looking for honor is not good.