What Does Jeremiah 35:2 Mean in the King James?

Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
Jeremiah 35:2 · KJV
The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

A test can begin with an ordinary cup in a sacred room, revealing the word a household carries within it.

A test can arrive as an ordinary offer in an honored room. The setting does not erase the word already carried within a person or household; the response makes that allegiance visible.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the assumption that a sacred setting makes every invitation neutral: here, the offered cup tests an existing commitment.

וְהִשְׁקִיתָ

wehišqîtā

GROWS FROM

שקה

To give drink or water; in this form, to cause someone to drink.

“give them wine to drink” in this verse is wehišqîtā. This verb belongs to the same family as watering land: both acts supply a source. Jeremiah is told to place drink before them, and the surrounding scene makes that offer a test of what they already hold.

ALSO GROWS

mashqeh: A drink or beverage; also a cupbearer.

מַשְׁקֶה

The root can name both the drink supplied and the one who serves it, bringing the offered cup into focus.

wehishqah: And he watered, or caused to drink.

וְהִשְׁקָה

The same root describes watering; here, the act of supplying drink becomes the setting for a revealing choice.

וְדִבַּרְתָּ

vedibbarta

GROWS FROM

דבר

To speak or utter; the related noun also means word or matter.

“speak” in this verse is vedibbarta. Hebrew links speaking with davar, a word or matter. Jeremiah’s speech frames the encounter before the drink is set before them: the spoken word and the ensuing choice belong to one scene.

ALSO GROWS

davar: Word, matter, or thing.

דָּבָר

The shared root joins what is spoken to the matter that follows.

medabber: One who is speaking.

מְדַבֵּר

This form keeps the act of speaking visible as the encounter begins.

וַהֲבִיאוֹתָם

vahaḇi'otam

GROWS FROM

בוא

To come or enter; in the causative form, to bring or cause to enter.

“bring them into” in this verse is vahaḇi'otam. The root holds arrival and bringing together. Jeremiah is told to bring the Rechabites into a particular chamber, so the place itself becomes part of the scene in which their household commitment is revealed.

ALSO GROWS

bo: Come or enter.

בּוֹא

This is the basic movement contained in the root behind bringing them into the chamber.

mavo: Entrance or entry.

מָבוֹא

The related word for an entrance echoes the threshold they cross on the way into the LORD’s house.

An immediate offer exposes whether a prior word has taken root deeply enough to govern a response.

But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:
Jeremiah 35:6 · KJVThe Rechabites answer the offered wine by holding to the command their father gave them.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Daniel 1:8 · KJVDaniel meets the king’s food and wine with a resolve he has already formed.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Matthew 4:3-4 · KJVJesus answers the offer of bread with a word that governs his response.
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
Psalm 36:8 · KJV

The same root, ⁨שקה⁩ (shaqah), appears in “make them drink.” Jeremiah is told to give the Rechabites wine; the Psalm describes God giving drink from a river of delights. The shared verb links both scenes through the source placed before those who drink.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us

Jeremiah 35:2 KJV Meaning