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.
You must not build houses, plant crops, or grow vineyards, and you shouldn't own any of these things. Instead, you should live in tents for your entire lives, so that you may live for many years in the land where you are foreigners.
God is telling the Rechabites to maintain their nomadic lifestyle of living in tents rather than settling down permanently, as this will help them survive as foreigners in the land.
📚 Historical Context
This verse records the ancestral command given by Jonadab (also called Jehonadab) to his descendants, the Rechabites, around 250 years before Jeremiah's time. The Rechabites were a nomadic clan who chose to live as tent-dwelling herders rather than settle into agricultural life like most Israelites. Jeremiah uses their faithful obedience to their ancestor's commands as an object lesson to contrast with Israel's disobedience to God.
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