Source shape: Brenton LXX Jeremiah 42–43 corresponds to familiar MT Jeremiah 35–36. All verse numbers, order, and wording follow the LXX text exactly. Familiar MT chapter numbers are noted only for cross-reference.
Jeremiah 42:1-11 LXX — The Rechabites brought to the house of the Lord and their steadfast refusal of wine (familiar MT 35:1-11)
1. The Word that came to Jeremias from the Lord in the days of Joakim, king of Juda, saying, 2. Go to the house of the Archabin, and thou shalt bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the courts, and give them wine to drink. 3. So I brought forth Jechonias the son of Jeremin the son of Chabasin, and his brethren, and his sons, and all the family of the Archabin; 4. and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Joanan, the son of Ananias, the son of Godolias, a man of God, who dwells near the house of the princes that are over the house of Maasæas the son of Selom, who kept the court. 5. And I set before them a jar of wine, and cups, and I said, Drink ye wine. 6. But they said, We will on no account drink wine, for our father Jonadab the son of Rechab commanded us, saying, Ye shall on no account drink wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: 7. nor shall ye at all build houses, nor sow any seed, nor shall ye have a vineyard: for ye shall dwell in tents all your days; that ye may live many days upon the land, in which ye sojourn. 8. And we hearkened to the voice of Jonadab our father, so as to drink no wine all our days, we, and our wives, and our sons, and our daughters; 9. and so as to build no houses to dwell in: and we have had no vineyard, nor field, nor seed: 10. but we have dwelt in tents, and have hearkened, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11. And it came to pass, when Nabuchodonosor came up against the land, that we said we would come in; and we entered into Jerusalem, for fear of the host of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the host of the Assyrians: and we dwelt there.
Jeremiah is commanded to bring the family of the Rechabites (Archabin) into the temple courts and set wine before them. They refuse, citing the command of their ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab: no wine, no houses, no sowing, no vineyards, only tents. They have kept this charge for generations, even when forced into Jerusalem by the Babylonian threat. Their obedience to a human father’s rule is complete and public.
Jeremiah 42:12-19 LXX — The Lord sets the Rechabites’ obedience against Judah’s refusal to hear (familiar MT 35:12-19)
12. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 13. Thus saith the Lord, Go, and say to the men of Juda, and to them that dwell in Jerusalem, Will ye not receive correction to hearken to my words? 14. The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the word which he commanded his children, that they should drink no wine; and they have not drunk it: but I spoke to you early, and ye hearkened not. 15. And I sent to you my servants the prophets, saying, Turn ye every one from his evil way, and amend your practices, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell upon the land which I gave to you and to your fathers: but ye inclined not your ears, and hearkened not. 16. But the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command of their father; but this people has not hearkened to me. 17. Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring upon Juda and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evils which I pronounced against them. 18. Therefore thus saith the Lord; Since the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have hearkened to the command of their father, to do as their father commanded them: 19. there shall never be wanting a man of the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab to stand before my face while the earth remains.
The Lord uses the Rechabites as a living contrast. A human father’s command has been kept for generations; the Lord’s own repeated calls through the prophets have been refused. Judah will therefore receive the evils long pronounced. The Rechabites, however, will not lack a man to stand before the Lord as long as the earth remains. The point is the shame of refusing the living God while honoring a dead ancestor’s rule.
Jeremiah 43:1-8 LXX — The command to write all the words on a roll and the first reading (familiar MT 36:1-8)
1. In the fourth Year of Joakim son of Josias king of Juda, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2. Take thee a roll of a book, and write upon it all the words which I spoke to thee against Jerusalem, and against Juda, and against all the nations, from the day when I spoke to thee, from the days of Josias king of Juda, even to this day. 3. Perhaps the house of Juda will hear all the evils which I purpose to do to them; that they may turn from their evil way; and so I will be merciful to their iniquities and their sins. 4. So Jeremias called Baruch the son of Nerias: and he wrote from the mouth of Jeremias all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken to him, on a roll of a book. 5. And Jeremias commanded Baruch, saying, I am in prison; I cannot enter into the house of the Lord: 6. so thou shalt read in this roll in the ears of the people in the house of the Lord, on the fast day; and in the ears of all Juda that come out of their cities, thou shalt read to them. 7. Peradventure their supplication will come before the Lord, and they will turn from their evil way: for great is the wrath and the anger of the Lord, which he has pronounced against this people. 8. And Baruch did according to all that Jeremias commanded him—reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.
In the fourth year of Joakim, Jeremiah is told to write every word the Lord has spoken against Jerusalem, Judah, and the nations onto a single roll. Baruch writes it from dictation. Because Jeremiah is confined, Baruch is sent to read the entire roll in the temple on a fast day so that the people may hear and perhaps turn. The purpose is explicitly mercy: that the house of Judah might hear and repent.
Jeremiah 43:9-19 LXX — The roll is heard by the princes and taken to the king (familiar MT 36:9-19)
9. And it came to pass in the eighth year of king Joakim, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem, and the house of Juda, proclaimed a fast before the Lord. 10. And Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremias in the house of the Lord, in the house of Gamarias son of Saphan the scribe, in the upper court, in the entrance of the new gate of the house of the Lord, and in the ears of all the people. 11. And Michæas the son of Gamarias the son of Saphan heard all the words of the Lord, out of the book. 12. And he went down to the king’s house, into the house of the scribe: and, behold, there were sitting there all the princes, Elisama the scribe, and Dalæas the son of Selemias, and Jonathan the son of Acchobor, and Gamarias the son of Saphan, and Sedekias the son of Ananias, and all the princes. 13. And Michæas reported to them all the words which he had heard Baruch reading in the ears of the people. 14. And all the princes sent to Baruch son of Nerias Judin the son of Nathanias, the son of Selemias, the son of Chusi, saying, Take in thine hand the roll in which thou readest in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch took the roll, and went down to them. 15. And they said to him, Read it again in our ears. And Baruch read it. 16. And it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, that they took counsel each with his neighbour, and said, Let us by all means tell the king all these words. 17. And they asked Baruch, saying, Where didst thou write all these words? 18. And Baruch said, Jeremias told me from his own mouth all these words, and I wrote them in a book. 19. And they said to Baruch, Go, and hide, thou and Jeremias; let no man know where ye are.
On a fast day in the ninth month of the eighth year of Joakim, Baruch reads the roll publicly in the temple. A prince hears and reports to the other princes gathered in the scribe’s chamber. They summon Baruch, have him read the roll again in their hearing, and are alarmed. They decide the king must be told, yet they also advise Baruch and Jeremiah to hide. The word has reached the leadership; the response is fear without repentance.
Jeremiah 43:20-32 LXX — The king burns the roll; the Lord commands it to be written again with added words (familiar MT 36:20-32)
20. And they went in to the king into the court, and gave the roll to one to keep in the house of Elisama; and they told the king all these words. 21. And the king sent Judin to fetch the roll: and he took it out of the house of Elisama: and Judin read in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood round the king. 22. Now the king was sitting in the winter house: and there was a fire on the hearth before him. 23. And it came to pass when Judin had read three or four leaves, he cut them off with a penknife, and cast them into the fire that was on the hearth, until the whole roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. 24. And the king and his servants that heard all these words sought not the Lord, and rent not their garments. 25. But Elnathan and Godolias suggested to the king that he should burn the roll. 26. And the king commanded Jeremeel the king’s son, and Saræas the son of Esriel, to take Baruch and Jeremias: but they were hidden. 27. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, after the king had burnt the roll, even all the words which Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremias, saying, 28. Again take thou another roll, and write all the words that were on the roll, which king Joakim has burnt. 29. And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burnt this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come in, and destroy this land, and man and cattle shall fail from off it? 30. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Joakim king of Juda; He shall not have a man to sit on the throne of David: and his carcase shall be cast forth in the heat by day, and in the frost by night. 31. And I will visit him, and his family, and his servants: and I will bring upon him, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the land of Juda, all the evils which I spoke of to them; and they hearkened not. 32. And Baruch took another roll, and wrote upon it from the mouth of Jeremias all the words of the book which Joakim had burnt: and there were yet more words added to it like the former.
The princes report to the king. The roll is fetched and read before him in the winter house with a fire burning. After three or four columns, Joakim cuts the leaves with a penknife and throws them into the fire until the entire roll is consumed. Neither the king nor his servants tear their garments or seek the Lord. The king even orders the arrest of Jeremiah and Baruch, who are already hidden. After the burning, the word of the Lord comes again: take another roll and write all the former words plus more. Joakim will have no descendant on David’s throne; his own body will be exposed. The judgment already spoken will fall. Baruch writes the new roll, and additional words are added.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
The Rechabites kept a human father’s charge across generations, while Judah refused the living God who rose early and sent His prophets. Their discipline is not made into a universal command about wine, houses, or agriculture. It becomes a mirror: human beings are capable of costly, sustained obedience, yet the heart often gives less attention to God than to inherited custom.
Jehoiakim reveals the next stage of refusal. He does not merely ignore the scroll; he cuts it leaf by leaf and burns it before him. The Lord answers without spectacle: write it again, and add more words. Scripture can be rejected, censored, or physically destroyed, but human power cannot make the divine word untrue. For a servant or parent, this is both warning and consolation. We must not confuse removing an uncomfortable message with answering it, and we need not panic when truth is resisted.
Lord, give me the steady obedience that receives Your word before it judges another person. Expose the customs I honor more than Your voice, and keep me from cutting away the words that confront me. Write Your command again upon my heart until repentance becomes stronger than resistance. Amen.
Teaching Notes
Jeremiah 42:1-11 LXX — The Rechabites brought to the house of the Lord and their steadfast refusal of wine (familiar MT 35:1-11)
- The Rechabites are brought into the temple courts specifically to test whether they will keep their ancestral rule.
- Their refusal is total and explained by loyalty to Jonadab’s command: no wine, no settled agriculture, no permanent houses.
- They have maintained this discipline even when driven into Jerusalem by war.
Jeremiah 42:12-19 LXX — The Lord sets the Rechabites’ obedience against Judah’s refusal to hear (familiar MT 35:12-19)
- The contrast is direct: a dead father’s word is kept; the living Lord’s repeated prophetic calls are ignored.
- The Rechabites receive a promise of enduring presence before the Lord; Judah receives the evils long pronounced.
- The point is not to canonize every family custom but to shame the refusal of the God who actually speaks.
Jeremiah 43:1-8 LXX — The command to write all the words on a roll and the first reading (familiar MT 36:1-8)
- The roll contains every word spoken against Jerusalem, Judah, and the nations from the days of Josias onward.
- Baruch reads publicly on a fast day so that the people might hear and turn.
- The explicit purpose is mercy: that the house of Judah might repent and receive mercy for iniquities.
Jeremiah 43:9-19 LXX — The roll is heard by the princes and taken to the king (familiar MT 36:9-19)
- The public reading reaches the princes; they hear the full content and are alarmed.
- They report to the king yet also counsel Jeremiah and Baruch to hide.
- Fear of the word does not yet produce repentance or protection of the messengers.
Jeremiah 43:20-32 LXX — The king burns the roll; the Lord commands it to be written again with added words (familiar MT 36:20-32)
- Joakim personally cuts the roll leaf by leaf and burns it in the fire before him.
- Neither king nor servants seek the Lord or rend their garments.
- The Lord’s response is immediate: write the words again, and add more.
- The king who tried to destroy the word of judgment will himself be judged without a successor on David’s throne.
Sources
Embedded Scripture is from Brenton’s English Septuagint (LXX).