5 I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine! ”
6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded: ‘You and your sons must never drink wine.
7 You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a temporary resident.’
8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life — we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters.
9 We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed.
10 But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done as our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.
11 However, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: Come, let’s go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies. So we have been living in Jerusalem.”