1Herren havde imidlertid sendt en profet fra Juda til Betel, og mens Jeroboam stod og var klar til at tænde ilden til røgelsesofferet,2råbte denne profet: „Du alter! Hør, hvad Herren siger: En dreng skal fødes i Davids slægt og få navnet Josias. Han vil komme her og ofre de afgudspræster, som tænder offerild på dig. Da skal der brændes menneskeknogler på dig.3Og som tegn på, at mit budskab er fra Herren, vil alteret om lidt revne, så asken vælter ud på jorden.”4Da kong Jeroboam hørte, hvad profeten råbte imod det nye alter i Betel, pegede han på ham og råbte til vagterne: „Grib ham!” Men øjeblikkelig stivnede hans arm, så han ikke kunne trække den til sig igen,5og samtidig revnede alteret, så asken spredtes på jorden—nøjagtig som profeten havde sagt.6Forfærdet råbte kongen til profeten: „Gå i forbøn for mig og bed Herren, din Gud, om at gøre min arm normal igen!” Så bad profeten til Herren, og kongens arm blev normal igen.7Derpå sagde kongen: „Tag med mig hjem for at få noget at spise. Jeg vil også give dig en gave.”8Men profeten svarede: „Om du så gav mig det halve kongerige, ville jeg ikke tage imod det! Og jeg vil hverken spise eller drikke noget på dette sted.9Herren har sagt, at jeg hverken må tage imod noget at spise eller drikke og heller ikke rejse tilbage ad den vej, jeg kom.”10Derefter gik profeten bort ad en anden vej.11Nu boede der imidlertid en gammel profet i Betel, og hans sønner havde overværet det hele. De skyndte sig hjem og fortalte deres far, hvad profeten fra Juda havde sagt og gjort.12„Hvilken vej gik han?” spurgte den gamle profet. Så fortalte de ham det.13„Skynd jer!” sagde han. „Se at få sadlet mit æsel!” Og da de havde sadlet æslet,14red han efter profeten. Han indhentede ham ved et egetræ, hvor han sad og hvilede sig. „Er du profeten fra Juda?” spurgte den gamle mand. „Ja, det er jeg,” svarede han.15„Tag med mig hjem og få noget at spise!”16-17„Nej,” svarede han, „det kan jeg ikke, for jeg må hverken spise eller drikke, så længe jeg er her. Herren har udtrykkeligt advaret mig imod det, og han befalede mig også at rejse en anden vej hjem, end den jeg kom ad.”18Men den gamle mand insisterede: „Jeg er selv profet, og en engel kom til mig og sagde, at jeg skulle tage dig med hjem og give dig noget at spise og drikke.” Men det var løgn alt sammen.19Så gik profeten fra Juda med den gamle mand hjem, og han spiste og drak.20Men pludselig, mens de sad og spiste ved bordet, kom Herrens ord til den gamle profet,21-22og han råbte til profeten fra Juda: „Herren siger, at fordi du var ulydig og stik imod hans klare befaling lod dig overtale til at spise og drikke her, skal du dø, og dit lig vil ikke blive lagt i dit familiegravsted.”23Efter måltidet sadlede den gamle mand sit æsel og lod profeten ride af sted på det.24Men han var ikke nået ret langt, før en løve sprang op, rev ham af æslet og bed ham ihjel. Derefter blev både løven og æslet stående og kiggede på ham.25Nogle forbipasserende så liget ligge ved vejen, mens løven bare stod og kiggede på det. Da de nåede ind til Betel, hvor den gamle mand boede, fortalte de om den mystiske hændelse.26Da den gamle profet hørte om det, udbrød han: „Jamen, det må være den profet, som var ulydig imod Herrens befaling. Det er en straf fra Herren, at han blev revet ihjel af en løve.”27Så tilføjede han henvendt til sine sønner: „Gør et æsel klar!” Det gjorde de så,28hvorefter han red af sted. Da han lidt senere fandt profetens lig på vejen, stod løven og æslet der stadig og kiggede. Løven havde hverken ædt ham eller angrebet æslet.29Da tog den gamle profet liget og lagde det på æslet, hvorefter han vendte tilbage til byen for at sørge over den døde og begrave ham.30„Åh, min stakkels ven!” sagde han og lagde den døde i sin egen grav.31Derefter sagde han til sine sønner: „Når jeg dør, skal I lægge mig ved siden af ham,32for han var en sand profet! Hans dom over afgudsdyrkelsen her i Betel og de andre altre rundt omkring i Samaria skal gå i opfyldelse.”33Men trods det, der var sket, opgav Jeroboam ikke sin ondskab—tværtimod, han udnævnte flere præster blandt den almindelige befolkning, så afgudsdyrkelsen omkring offerstederne blomstrede mere end nogen sinde. Enhver, som havde lyst, kunne blive præst.34På grund af denne store synd blev hele Jeroboams slægt senere udryddet fra jordens overflade.
1And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. (1.Kong 12,33; 2.Kong 23,17)2And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” (1.Kong 13,32; 2.Kong 23,15)3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” (Dom 6,17)4And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.5The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.6And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. (2.Mos 8,8; 2.Mos 9,28; 2.Mos 10,17; 4.Mos 21,7; Ap G 8,24)7And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” (1.Sam 9,7; 2.Kong 5,15)8And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, (4.Mos 22,18; 4.Mos 24,13; 1.Kong 13,16)9for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’”10So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.
The Prophet’s Disobedience
11Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons[1] came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. (1.Kong 13,25; 2.Kong 23,18)12And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone.13And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it.14And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.”15Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”16And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, (1.Kong 13,8)17for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” (1.Kong 20,35; 1.Thess 4,15)18And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him.19So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.20And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.21And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you,22but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’”23And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.24And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. (1.Kong 20,36)25And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. (1.Kong 13,11)26And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.”27And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it.28And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey.29And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city[2] to mourn and to bury him.30And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” (Jer 22,18)31And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. (2.Kong 23,17)32For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.” (1.Kong 12,31; 1.Kong 13,2; 1.Kong 16,24; 2.Kong 23,16)33After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places.34And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth. (1.Kong 12,30; 1.Kong 14,10; 1.Kong 15,29; 2.Kong 17,21)