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Jeremiah 35:8

in Jeremiah 35

And we have obeyed the voice of our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab in all he commanded us. So we have not drunk wine all our lives—neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;

KJV

Thus 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;

This verse in Jeremiah 35

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father,.... The above was the charge he gave them; and this, in every article of it, they had carefully and constantly kept, though it had been for the space of three hundred years, or thereabout; as follows: in all he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; which was the first of the precepts he gave them: and which they were now tempted to disregard, but were resolved to observe it, as they had hitherto done.

This site's exposition

We do not drink wine,” they

on Jeremiah 35:6-12

The Rechabites answer with their history: “our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab” forbade them wine, houses, fields, and vineyards. They have kept it whole, living “in tents” as he commanded. Their stay in Jerusalem is a wartime refuge, taken “to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.”

This site's exposition

we have obeyed the voice of our forefather Jonadab

The answer stresses completeness: every command, every day of their lives, and every member of the household. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set each of those points against Israel, whose obedience to God failed in all three. To Barnes, father here means their founder.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

They had in their respective generations all of them obeyed the voice of Jonadab their father, had done according to all that he commanded them. They drank no wine, though they dwelt in a country where was plenty of it; their wives and children drank no wine, for those that are temperate themselves should take care that all under their charge should be so too.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

all that he . . . charged us . . . all our days, we . . . wives . . . sons . . . daughters--unreserved obedience in all particulars, at all times, and on the part of all, without exception: in these respects Israel's obedience to God was wanting.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Thus have we obeyed the voice - We have considered these precepts so very reasonable, so very useful, so conducive to the health of both body and mind, and sanctioned by such a respectable antiquity that we scrupulously and religiously observe them.
Our father - Not merely our ancestor, but the founder of our institutions.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַנִּשְׁמַ֗עand we have listened

    vanishma'H8085 →1159 times

  • בְּק֨וֹלto [the] voice of

    bekolH6963 →506 times

  • יְהוֹנָדָ֤בJonadab

    yehonadavH3082 →8 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • רֵכָב֙Rechab

    rekhavH7394 →13 times

  • אָבִ֔ינוּancestor our

    ʾavinuH1 →1212 times

  • לְכֹ֖לto all

    lekholH3605 →5413 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רthat

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • צִוָּ֑נוּhe commanded us

    tzivanuH6680 →494 times

  • לְבִלְתִּ֤יto not

    leviltiH1115 →112 times

  • שְׁתֽוֹת־to drink

    shetot-H8354 →217 times

  • יַ֙יִן֙wine

    yayinH3196 →141 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • יָמֵ֔ינוּdays our

    yameinuH3117 →2304 times

  • אֲנַ֣חְנוּwe

    ʾanachnuH587 →120 times

  • נָשֵׁ֔ינוּwives our

    nasheinuH802 →781 times

  • בָּנֵ֖ינוּsons our

    baneinuH1121 →4930 times

  • וּבְנֹתֵֽינוּ׃and daughters our

    uvenoteinuH1323 →588 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Colossians 3:20

    Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 20:12

      Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

    • Ephesians 6:1–3

      Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

    • Proverbs 6:20

      My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

    • Matthew 19:19

      honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”

    • Matthew 15:4–6

      For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

  • Through

    Proverbs 4:10

    Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.

    it leads to

    • 1 Thessalonians 2:13

      And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the…

    • Proverbs 3:2

      for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.

  • Through

    Proverbs 6:20

    My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 6:1

      Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.