The Meaning of Jeremiah 35:19 Explained

Jeremiah 35:19

KJV: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

YLT: therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Of Jonadab son of Rechab one standing before me is not cut off all the days.'

Darby: therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, There shall not fail to Jonadab the son of Rechab a man to stand before me, for ever.

ASV: therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore thus saith  the LORD  of hosts,  the God  of Israel;  Jonadab  the son  of Rechab  shall not want  a man  to stand  before  me for ever. 

What does Jeremiah 35:19 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Someone from their family would "stand before" Yahweh forever-because they had obeyed their father, Jonadab. "Stand before" usually describes someone who served Yahweh in some special way (cf. Jeremiah 7:10; Jeremiah 15:19; Deuteronomy 4:10; Deuteronomy 10:8; 1 Kings 10:8; 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14; 2 Chronicles 29:11). However, it also describes simple worshippers of Yahweh ( Jeremiah 7:10; Leviticus 9:5; Deuteronomy 4:10). The promise probably pointed to a continuing line rather than to a specific ministry. [1]
"According to the Mishnah "the children of Jonadab son of Rechab" had a fixed day in the year for bringing wood for the altar of the temple. Other traditions refer to "water-drinking" sacrificers whose descent is traced to Jonadab." [2]
"Even today, in Syria and Arabia, there are groups that claim to be Rechabites and that follow the Rechabite rule." [3]
"God is always looking for individuals whose lives are characterized by faithfulness. Such individuals will experience God"s blessing even in the midst of trials." [4]
"Incidentally, as a secondary thrust of this episode, we are reminded that God, who loves unity and truth, is no lover of uniformity. By his own order of Nazirites he called some people, but not others, to an austerity not unlike that of the Rechabites, to make a particular point; and the fact that Jesus and John the Baptist glorified God by different lifestyles should open our minds to the reality and value of specialized callings-such as even the once-flourishing temperance movement which adopted the name of Rechabites in nineteenth-century England." [5]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 35:1-19 - A Lesson From The Rechabites
Among the refugees from the neighboring country who sought asylum within the walls of Jerusalem, was a group of Arabs, known as Rechabites. Probably they encamped in one of the open spaces. They clung tenaciously to the regulations promulgated by Jonadab some three hundred years before. See Judges 1:16; 2 Kings 10:15; 1 Chronicles 2:55. They drank no wine, did not cultivate the ground, and lived in tents. We do well not to touch alcohol; not to strike our roots two deeply into this world, where we are pilgrims and strangers; and to cultivate the pilgrim spirit, which looks for and travels toward the city that hath foundations. Israel had not been as true to the divine precepts as the Rechabites to those of their founder. Therefore the Chosen People would be dispossessed and scattered; while the Rechabites have preserved their independence to the present day. Obedience is the only source of permanence. "He that doeth the will of God abideth forever." [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 35

1  By the obedience of the Rechabites,
12  Jeremiah condemns the disobedience of the Jews
18  God blesses the Rechabites for their obedience

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 35:19 mean?

Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts the God of Israel not shall lack a man Jonadab son of Rechab to stand before Me all forever -
לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לֹֽא־ יִכָּרֵ֨ת אִ֜ישׁ לְיוֹנָדָ֧ב בֶּן־ רֵכָ֛ב עֹמֵ֥ד לְפָנַ֖י כָּל־ הַיָּמִֽים פ

כֹּ֥ה  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֛ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֖וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
אֱלֹהֵ֣י  the  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
יִכָּרֵ֨ת  shall  lack 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
אִ֜ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
לְיוֹנָדָ֧ב  Jonadab 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄונָדָב  
Sense: a son of Rechab, chief of the Rechabites, in the time of Jehu and Ahab.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
רֵכָ֛ב  of  Rechab 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֵכָב 
Sense: father of Jehonadab in the time of king Jehu of the northern kingdom of Israel.
עֹמֵ֥ד  to  stand 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
לְפָנַ֖י  before  Me 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הַיָּמִֽים  forever 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation