Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, or have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land in which you live.’
- BSB Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’
- NKJV You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’
- NASB You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor own one; but you shall live in tents all your days, so that you may live many days in the land where you live as strangers.’
- NLT And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jonadab also commanded them to live in tents and avoid settled farming. Their nomadic life expressed disciplined separation and trust.
Overview
The Rechabites were to build no houses, plant no crops, and dwell in tents, living as sojourners in the land. This simple, pilgrim lifestyle was meant to preserve them through obedience. Their consistent way of life pictures a kind of faithful, set-apart existence that Judah failed to render to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 35:10But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
- Eph 6:2–3Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
- Gen 25:27And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
- Lev 23:42–43Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
- Exod 20:12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
- Neh 8:14–16And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:
- 1 Pet 2:11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
- Eph 5:18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
- Heb 11:9–13By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 35:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.