Bible Strands
Jeremiah 35:7
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.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Rechabites address Jeremiah, recounting Jonadab son of Rechab’s command to reject permanent settlement and agriculture.
The words — תִבְנ֗וּ (tiv.Nu) means you must build, and תִזְרָ֙עוּ֙ (tiz.Ra.'u) means you must sow, both preceded by לֹא־ (lo'-) to forbid construction and planting.
The thread — The Rechabites’ adherence to Jonadab’s tent-dwelling instruction is confirmed in Jeremiah 35:10, while the promised longevity in the land echoes the covenantal principle of Exodus 20:12.
Why it lands — The text commands the rejection of agricultural and architectural permanence in favor of nomadic living to secure longevity in the land.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 35:10 But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done exactly as our forefather Jonadab commanded us.
- Genesis 25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
- Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Leviticus 23:42 You are to dwell in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must dwell in booths,
- Nehemiah 8:14 And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month,
- Ephesians 6:2 “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise),
- Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
- Hebrews 11:9 By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
- 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.