1 When Jehoiakim was king of Judah, the Lord told me,
2 “Go to the Rechabite clan and invite them to meet you in one of the side rooms of the temple. When they arrive, offer them a drink of wine.”
3 So I went to Jaazaniah, the leader of the clan, and I invited him and all the men of his clan.
4 I brought them into the temple courtyard and took them upstairs to a room belonging to the prophets who were followers of Hanan son of Igdaliah. It was next to a room belonging to some of the officials, and that room was over the one belonging to Maaseiah, a priest who was one of the high officials in the temple.
5 I set out some large bowls full of wine together with some cups, and then I said to the Rechabites, “Have some wine!”
6 But they answered:No! The ancestor of our clan, Jonadab son of Rechab, made a rule that we must obey. He said, “Don't ever drink wine
7 or build houses or plant crops and vineyards. Instead, you must always live in tents and move from place to place. If you obey this command, you will live a long time.”