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Jeremiah 35

ירמיהו פרק ל״ה

Section: נביאים · נביאים אחרונים | Book: Jeremiah | Chapter: 35 of 52 | Day: 248 of 742

Date: October 17, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 35 steps backward in time. The previous chapter was set in the last months of Tzidkiyahu’s reign, with the armies of Bavel already pressing on Yerushalayim, Lachish and Azekah; this one opens in the days of Yehoyakim son of Yoshiyahu (בימי יהויקים בן יאשיהו), perhaps a decade or more earlier. The book of Yirmiyahu is not arranged as a chronicle, and its editors place episodes side by side when they illuminate one another. Here the juxtaposition is pointed. Chapter 34 ended with the people of Yerushalayim solemnly freeing their Hebrew slaves in a covenant before God and then, as soon as the pressure eased, seizing them back again. Chapter 35 offers the counter-image: a small, marginal clan that has kept a much harder commitment, made not to God but to a human ancestor, unbroken for generations. The two chapters together form a diptych on faithfulness to one’s word.

The episode is one of Yirmiyahu’s enacted prophecies, a staged scene meant to be watched. God tells the prophet to go to the house of the Rechabites (בית הרכבים), bring them into the Temple, seat them in one of the chambers and give them wine to drink. Who are these people? Rashi and Metzudat David identify them as the sons of Yonadav son of Rechav, descendants of Yitro, and Radak adds that they came from the family of Chovav, the father-in-law of Moshe, called after Rechav as the head of the clan. He points to the verse in Divrei HaYamim (I 2:55) that names the Kenites who came from Chamat, the father of the house of Rechav. They are, in other words, the children of converts who joined Israel in the wilderness. Their ancestor Yonadav appears in II Melachim 10, riding in Yehu’s chariot as Yehu stamps out the worship of Baal in the northern kingdom. Radak calculates that from Yonadav in Yehu’s day to the reign of Yehoyakim is close to three hundred years, which is why the Rechabites call him ‘our father’ — Metzudat David explains that the word means head of the family, not literal father.

The setting is carefully specified. Yirmiyahu brings Yaazanyah son of Yirmiyahu son of Chavatzinyah (a namesake, not the prophet’s own son), his brothers and all his sons into the chamber of the sons of Chanan son of Yigdalyahu, the man of God (איש האלהים), which Rashi, Radak and Metzudat David all gloss, following the Targum, as a prophet of the LORD. The room is beside the chamber of the officials (לשכת השרים), where Metzudat David says the ministers would gather, and above the chamber of Maaseiyahu son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold (שומר הסף), whom Rashi and Radak, again following Targum Yonatan, identify as a treasurer. The location is public, in the heart of the Temple complex, next to the seat of government. Whatever the Rechabites do here will be seen. Yirmiyahu sets before them bowls full of wine and cups, and says simply: drink wine (שתו יין). Radak notes that God’s instruction ‘give them wine to drink’ could only mean ‘set wine before them,’ since God knew they would not drink.

Their refusal is courteous, immediate and total. We will not drink wine, for Yonadav son of Rechav our father commanded us: you shall not drink wine, you and your sons forever, and you shall not build houses, sow seed, plant vineyards or own them, but dwell in tents all your days, so that you may live many days on the land where you sojourn (גרים). The commentators offer a practical rationale for this unusual way of life. Metzudat David and Radak both explain that houses, fields and vineyards bind a person to one place, so that when famine or the sword comes he stays and perishes with the inhabitants, while the tent-dweller can move freely to wherever things are good; Radak compares the patriarchs, who moved their tents from place to place because of famine. Rashi offers a different explanation: as the children of converts they had no allotment in the land, and so they lived in tents in the wilderness. On wine, Metzudat David says the reason needed no explanation, since everyone knows it leads to disgraceful acts, and Radak expands at length, citing Mishlei on the one who reels in wine, Yeshayahu’s woe to the drunkards of Ephrayim, and the first man to drink wine, who though righteous and wholehearted became drunk and was disgraced by it. Radak even names wine as a cause of the exile of both the ten tribes and Yehudah. The Rechabites add, with transparent honesty, that they are now living in Yerushalayim only because Nevuchadnetzar’s invasion and the bands of Aram drove them in; Rashi has them say they came to the city against their will, and Metzudat David identifies the invasion with the one in the days of Yehoyakim recorded in II Melachim 24.

Only then does the word of the LORD interpret the scene. Go say to the men of Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim: will you not take instruction (הלא תקחו מוסר) to listen to My words? The argument is an unspoken kal vachomer. The words of Yonadav son of Rechav have been upheld (הוקם): he commanded his sons once, and they have not drunk to this day. God, by contrast, has spoken to Israel ‘rising early and speaking’ (השכם ודבר), sending all His servants the prophets again and again with a message that was hardly burdensome: turn from your evil way, improve your deeds, do not go after other gods, and you will dwell on the land I gave you. Metzudat David notes that the verse mentions only the wine and not the houses and fields, because the abstention from wine was what the people had just seen with their own eyes in the Temple chamber; and he stresses that the Rechabites did not abstain from personal preference but in order to obey their father. Radak explains why idolatry is singled out after the general call to repentance: avodah zarah weighs as much as all the other transgressions together. The contrast cuts deep. A human father commanded a hard, ascetic discipline and was obeyed for three centuries; the Creator commanded the basic decencies of the covenant and was ignored. A human father’s word was a single instruction; God’s was a continuous, insistent stream of messengers. Therefore, verse 17 concludes, all the evil that has been spoken will come, because I spoke and they did not listen, I called and they did not answer.

The chapter ends not with the people but with the Rechabites, and the final word is a blessing. Because you obeyed the command of Yonadav your father, there shall not be cut off from Yonadav son of Rechav a man standing before Me all the days (עומד לפני כל הימים). The phrase ‘standing before Me’ is the language of priestly and prophetic service, and it puzzled the Sages, since these were converts with no priestly lineage. Radak records that Targum Yonatan renders it ‘ministering before Me,’ and cites the discussion of Chazal: Rabbi Yehudah asked whether converts could enter the Heichal, when even ordinary Israelites could not, and answered that their descendants sat in the Sanhedrin and taught words of Torah; others said their daughters married into the priesthood, so that their grandsons offered on the altar. Metzudat David gives both the Sanhedrin reading and a broader one, that there will always be among them God-fearing people devoted to His service. The blessing is an exact echo of the promise to the house of David and the Levites in chapter 33, that there shall never be cut off a man before Me. A family of converts who live in tents on the margins of Israelite society receives, as the reward of obedience, a share in the language of the eternal covenants.

In the larger architecture of the book, the Rechabites stand alongside Baruch, Eved-Melech the Kushite and the few others who hear and are spared, against a city that hears and refuses. The episode also prepares for what follows: in chapter 36, still in the days of Yehoyakim, the king will cut up and burn the scroll of Yirmiyahu’s prophecies column by column. The Rechabites kept the word of a man who had been dead for three hundred years; the king of Yehudah burned the word of the living God as it was read to him. The quiet scene in the Temple chamber, with its untouched cups of wine, becomes the measure by which the whole generation is judged.

פרק ל״ה · Chapter 35

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה בִּימֵ֨י יְהוֹיָקִ֧ים בֶּן־יֹאשִׁיָּ֛הוּ מֶ֥לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

The word that came to Jeremiah from GOD in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah:

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

הָלוֹךְ֮ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית הָרֵכָבִים֒ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֣ אוֹתָ֔ם וַהֲבִֽאוֹתָם֙ בֵּ֣ית יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־אַחַ֖ת הַלְּשָׁכ֑וֹת וְהִשְׁקִיתָ֥ אוֹתָ֖ם יָֽיִן׃

English:

Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them to the House of GOD, to one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

God instructs Yirmiyahu to bring the Rechabites into the Temple and offer them wine. Rashi and Metzudat David identify them as the sons of Yonadav son of Rechav, descendants of Yitro, and Radak traces them to Chovav, Moshe's father-in-law, citing the Kenites of Divrei HaYamim. Radak notes that 'give them wine to drink' can only mean set cups before them, since they would not drink.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אל בית הרכבים. בני יונדב בן רכב ומבני יתרו היו:
to the house of the Rechabites The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab, and they were of the sons of Jethro.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וָאֶקַּ֞ח אֶת־יַאֲזַנְיָ֤ה בֶֽן־יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙ בֶּן־חֲבַצִּנְיָ֔ה וְאֶת־אֶחָ֖יו וְאֶת־כׇּל־בָּנָ֑יו וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־בֵּ֥ית הָרֵכָבִֽים׃

English:

So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, all his sons, and all the men in the household of the Rechabites;

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וָאָבִ֤א אֹתָם֙ בֵּ֣ית יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־לִשְׁכַּ֗ת בְּנֵ֛י חָנָ֥ן בֶּן־יִגְדַּלְיָ֖הוּ אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים אֲשֶׁר־אֵ֙צֶל֙ לִשְׁכַּ֣ת הַשָּׂרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר מִמַּ֗עַל לְלִשְׁכַּ֛ת מַעֲשֵׂיָ֥הוּ בֶן־שַׁלֻּ֖ם שֹׁמֵ֥ר הַסַּֽף׃

English:

and I brought them to the House of GOD, to the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the agent of God, which is next to the chamber of the officials and above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the guardian of the threshold.

Yirmiyahu seats the Rechabites in the chamber of the sons of Chanan, a man of God, which Rashi, Radak and Metzudat David all render as a prophet. Metzudat David places it beside the chamber where the officials gathered, and Rashi and Radak, following the Targum, call Maaseiyahu the keeper of the threshold a treasurer. The test is staged in a public, central room of the Temple complex.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
איש האלהים. נביא דה': שומר הסף. אמרכלא טרשורי"ר בלע"ז:
the man of God The prophet of the Lord. the keeper of the vessels Heb. שמר הסף. Jonathan renders: אמרכּלא (tresorier in French,) a treasurer.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וָאֶתֵּ֞ן לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ בְּנֵ֣י בֵית־הָרֵכָבִ֗ים גְּבִעִ֛ים מְלֵאִ֥ים יַ֖יִן וְכֹס֑וֹת וָאֹמַ֥ר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם שְׁתוּ־יָֽיִן׃

English:

I set bowls full of wine and cups before the Rechabites, and said to them, “Have some wine.”

The prophet sets out bowls brimming with wine and cups, and gives a simple, direct invitation: drink wine. Metzudat David explains that the cups were for pouring from the large bowls. The offer comes from a prophet, in the House of God, with full ceremony -- the strongest possible pressure to accept, which makes the refusal that follows all the more striking.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לֹ֣א נִשְׁתֶּה־יָּ֑יִן כִּי֩ יוֹנָדָ֨ב בֶּן־רֵכָ֜ב אָבִ֗ינוּ צִוָּ֤ה עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֧א תִשְׁתּוּ־יַ֛יִן אַתֶּ֥ם וּבְנֵיכֶ֖ם עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃

English:

They replied, “We will not drink wine, for our ancestor, Jonadab son of Rechab, commanded us: ‘You shall never drink wine, either you or your children.

The Rechabites refuse at once: their father Yonadav son of Rechav forbade wine to them and their descendants forever. Radak explains that 'our father' means a distant ancestor, since Yonadav lived in the days of Yehu, nearly three hundred years before Yehoyakim; Metzudat David glosses it as the head of the family, and 'forever' as to the end of all generations.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וּבַ֣יִת לֹֽא־תִבְנ֗וּ וְזֶ֤רַע לֹֽא־תִזְרָ֙עוּ֙ וְכֶ֣רֶם לֹֽא־תִטָּ֔עוּ וְלֹ֥א יִהְיֶ֖ה לָכֶ֑ם כִּ֠י בׇּאֳהָלִ֤ים תֵּֽשְׁבוּ֙ כׇּל־יְמֵיכֶ֔ם לְמַ֨עַן תִּֽחְי֜וּ יָמִ֤ים רַבִּים֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֖ם גָּרִ֥ים שָֽׁם׃

English:

Nor shall you build houses or sow fields or plant vineyards, nor shall you own such things; but you shall live in tents all your days, so that you may live long upon the land where you sojourn.’

Yonadav also forbade building houses, sowing or planting, commanding tent-dwelling so that they would live long in the land of their sojourn. Metzudat David and Radak explain that property ties a person to one place, so he perishes there in famine or war, while a tent-dweller can move; Radak cites the wandering patriarchs and condemns wine at length. Rashi says that as children of converts they had no share in the land.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
באהלים תשבו. במדבריות אשר אתם גריס שם לא היה להם חלק בארץ שבני גרים היו:
but you shall dwell in tents in the deserts where you dwell. They had no share in the land since they were the children of proselytes.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַנִּשְׁמַ֗ע בְּק֨וֹל יְהוֹנָדָ֤ב בֶּן־רֵכָב֙ אָבִ֔ינוּ לְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּ֑נוּ לְבִלְתִּ֤י שְׁתֽוֹת־יַ֙יִן֙ כׇּל־יָמֵ֔ינוּ אֲנַ֣חְנוּ נָשֵׁ֔ינוּ בָּנֵ֖ינוּ וּבְנֹתֵֽינוּ׃

English:

And we have obeyed our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab in all that he commanded us: we never drink wine, neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters.

The Rechabites affirm that they have obeyed Yonadav in everything, abstaining from wine all their days -- the men, their wives, their sons and their daughters. Metzudat David stresses that the obedience extends even to the youngest children. What impresses the text is not merely the discipline of individuals but its transmission across a whole family for generations.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וּלְבִלְתִּ֛י בְּנ֥וֹת בָּתִּ֖ים לְשִׁבְתֵּ֑נוּ וְכֶ֧רֶם וְשָׂדֶ֛ה וָזֶ֖רַע לֹ֥א יִֽהְיֶה־לָּֽנוּ׃

English:

Nor do we build houses to live in, and we do not own vineyards or fields for sowing;

They do not build houses to live in, and own no vineyard, field or seed. Metzudat David explains that 'seed' includes any kind of planting, even a sown garden. The Rechabites have accepted a life without any of the settled security that the rest of Yehudah takes for granted.

פסוק י׳ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַנֵּ֖שֶׁב בׇּאֳהָלִ֑ים וַנִּשְׁמַ֣ע וַנַּ֔עַשׂ כְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֖נוּ יוֹנָדָ֥ב אָבִֽינוּ׃

English:

but we live in tents. We have obeyed and done all that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.

We have lived in tents, they say, and obeyed and done all that Yonadav commanded. Metzudat David reads it as a summary: until now we dwelt in tents, and as we accepted his words upon ourselves, so we carried them out. Their faithfulness joins acceptance and action, the very pairing the people of Yehudah lack.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֗י בַּעֲל֨וֹת נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֥ר מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶל֮ אֶל־הָאָ֒רֶץ֒ וַנֹּ֗אמֶר בֹּ֚אוּ וְנָב֣וֹא יְרוּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם מִפְּנֵי֙ חֵ֣יל הַכַּשְׂדִּ֔ים וּמִפְּנֵ֖י חֵ֣יל אֲרָ֑ם וַנֵּ֖שֶׁב בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃ {פ}

English:

But when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon invaded the country, we said, ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of Aram.’ And so we are living in Jerusalem.”

The Rechabites explain why they are now in Yerushalayim at all: when Nevuchadnetzar invaded, they fled into the city from the armies of the Kasdim and Aram. Rashi has them say they came against their will, which is why they now live among houses. Metzudat David identifies this with the invasion in Yehoyakim's days recorded in Melachim, and Radak reads 'come' as a word of urging.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ויהי בעלות נבוכדראצר. על כרחנו באנו העיר לכך עכשיו אנו יושבים בבתים:
And it came to pass when Nebuchadrezzar...came up Perforce we came to the city. Therefore, we are now dwelling in houses.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וַֽיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Then the word of GOD came to Jeremiah:

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

כֹּה־אָמַ֞ר יְהֹוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הָלֹ֤ךְ וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙ לְאִ֣ישׁ יְהוּדָ֔ה וּלְיוֹשְׁבֵ֖י יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם הֲל֨וֹא תִקְח֥וּ מוּסָ֛ר לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ אֶל־דְּבָרַ֖י נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Go say to the citizenry of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “You can learn a lesson [here] about obeying My commands—declares GOD.

God sends Yirmiyahu to the men of Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim with a pointed question: will you not take instruction and listen to My words? Metzudat David puts it plainly -- from this very episode you ought to learn to obey Me. The scene in the Temple chamber was staged not for the Rechabites but for the onlookers.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

הוּקַ֡ם אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֣י יְהוֹנָדָ֣ב בֶּן־רֵ֠כָ֠ב אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֨ה אֶת־בָּנָ֜יו לְבִלְתִּ֣י שְׁתֽוֹת־יַ֗יִן וְלֹ֤א שָׁתוּ֙ עַד־הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֣י שָֽׁמְע֔וּ אֵ֖ת מִצְוַ֣ת אֲבִיהֶ֑ם וְאָ֨נֹכִ֜י דִּבַּ֤רְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם֙ הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם וְדַבֵּ֔ר וְלֹ֥א שְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ם אֵלָֽי׃

English:

The commands of Jonadab son of Rechab have been fulfilled: he charged his children not to drink wine, and to this day they have not drunk, in obedience to the charge of their ancestor. But I spoke to you persistently, and you did not listen to Me.

The words of Yonadav have been upheld; his sons have not drunk to this day. But God has spoken persistently, and Israel has not listened. Metzudat David notes that only wine is mentioned because that abstention they saw with their own eyes, that the Rechabites abstained not from preference but to obey their father, and that 'rising early' means God's zealous sending of prophets. Radak adds a grammatical note on the verb.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וָאֶשְׁלַ֣ח אֲלֵיכֶ֣ם אֶת־כׇּל־עֲבָדַ֣י הַנְּבִאִ֣ים ׀ הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם וְשָׁלֹ֣חַ ׀ לֵאמֹ֡ר שֻֽׁבוּ־נָ֡א אִישׁ֩ מִדַּרְכּ֨וֹ הָרָעָ֜ה וְהֵיטִ֣יבוּ מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֗ם וְאַל־תֵּ֨לְכ֜וּ אַחֲרֵ֨י אֱלֹהִ֤ים אֲחֵרִים֙ לְעׇבְדָ֔ם וּשְׁבוּ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תִּי לָכֶ֖ם וְלַאֲבֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם וְלֹ֤א הִטִּיתֶם֙ אֶֽת־אׇזְנְכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א שְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ם אֵלָֽי׃

English:

I persistently sent you all My servants, the prophets, to say: ‘Turn back, every one of you, from your wicked ways and mend your deeds; do not follow other gods or serve them. Then you may remain on the land that I gave to you and your ancestors.’ But you did not give ear or listen to Me.

God recalls sending all His prophets, again and again, with a simple message: turn from your evil way, improve your deeds, do not serve other gods, and you will remain on the land. Metzudat David reads it as a second chance after transgression. Radak explains why idolatry is singled out after the general call to repentance: avodah zarah weighs as much as all the other sins together.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

כִּ֣י הֵקִ֗ימוּ בְּנֵי֙ יְהוֹנָדָ֣ב בֶּן־רֵכָ֔ב אֶת־מִצְוַ֥ת אֲבִיהֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּ֑ם וְהָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה לֹ֥א שָׁמְע֖וּ אֵלָֽי׃

English:

The family of Jonadab son of Rechab have indeed fulfilled the charge that their ancestor gave them; but this people has not listened to Me.

The contrast is stated outright: the sons of Yonadav fulfilled their father's command, but this people did not listen to Me. Metzudat David adds that the people failed twice -- they did not obey God, and they did not learn from the Rechabites' example even when it was placed before their eyes in the Temple.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

לָ֠כֵ֠ן כֹּֽה־אָמַ֨ר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י צְבָאוֹת֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הִנְנִ֧י מֵבִ֣יא אֶל־יְהוּדָ֗ה וְאֶ֤ל כׇּל־יֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם אֵ֚ת כׇּל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם יַ֣עַן דִּבַּ֤רְתִּי אֲלֵיהֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א שָׁמֵ֔עוּ וָאֶקְרָ֥א לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א עָנֽוּ׃

English:

Assuredly, thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster with which I have threatened them; for I spoke to them, but they would not listen; I called to them, but they would not respond.”

Therefore God will bring on Yehudah and Yerushalayim all the evil He has spoken, because He spoke and they did not listen, called and they did not answer. Metzudat David explains the evil as the punishments foretold through the prophets, and the calling as the call to return to Him. Their refusal to learn from the Rechabites seals the verdict.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וּלְבֵ֨ית הָרֵכָבִ֜ים אָמַ֣ר יִרְמְיָ֗הוּ כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר יְהֹוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יַ֚עַן אֲשֶׁ֣ר שְׁמַעְתֶּ֔ם עַל־מִצְוַ֖ת יְהוֹנָדָ֣ב אֲבִיכֶ֑ם וַֽתִּשְׁמְרוּ֙ אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺתָ֔יו וַֽתַּעֲשׂ֔וּ כְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֖ה אֶתְכֶֽם׃

English:

And to the family of the Rechabites Jeremiah said: “Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the charge of your ancestor Jonadab and kept all his commandments, and done all that he enjoined upon you,

Yirmiyahu now turns to the Rechabites themselves: because you obeyed Yonadav and kept all his commands. Metzudat David distinguishes the verbs -- you kept them in your heart and did not forget, and you also did all he commanded, many as they were. Radak notes that 'al' here means 'to,' as in Elkanah going home to his house.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהֹוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לֹא־יִכָּרֵ֨ת אִ֜ישׁ לְיוֹנָדָ֧ב בֶּן־רֵכָ֛ב עֹמֵ֥ד לְפָנַ֖י כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃ {פ}

English:

assuredly, thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: There shall never cease to be someone from the line of Jonadab son of Rechab standing before Me.”

The reward: there shall never be cut off a man of Yonadav's line standing before Me, echoing the eternal promises to David and the Levites in chapter 33. Radak cites Targum Yonatan, 'ministering before Me,' and Chazal's views that their descendants sat in the Sanhedrin teaching Torah or that their grandsons through priestly marriages served at the altar. Metzudat David adds that they will always include God-fearers devoted to His service.

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