A reading from the Book of Jeremiah.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jeholyakim, the son of Josiah,

King of Judah.

Go to the house of the Reckabites and speak with them, and bring them to the house of the

Lord, into one of the chambers, then offer them wine to drink. So I took Jeezania, the son of

Jeremiah, son of Habezania, and his brothers, and all his sons and the whole house of the

Reckabites. I brought them to the house of the Lord into the chamber of the sons of Hainan,

the son of Igdahlia, the man of God, which was near the chamber of

the officials, above the chamber of Measea, the son of Shalam, keeper of the threshold.

Then I set before the Reckabites, pitchers full of wine and cups, and I said to them,

drink wine.

But they answered, we will drink no wine, for

Jonah Dab, the son of Rikab, our father commanded us, you shall not drink wine, neither you

nor your sons forever. You shall not build a house. You shall not sow seed. You shall not plant

or have a vineyard. But you shall live in tents all your days,

that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn. We have obeyed the voice of

Jonah Dab, the son of Rikab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our

days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,

and not to build houses to dwell in.

We have no vineyard or field or seed.

But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our Father commanded us.

But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said,

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