1And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.2And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men' bones shall be burnt upon thee.3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.4And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.5The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.6And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king' hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.7And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.8And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:9For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.11Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.12And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.13And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,14And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am .15Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.16And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:17For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.18He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art ; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.19So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:21And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,22But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.23And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit , for the prophet whom he had brought back.24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof , he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.27And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him .28And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.29And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.30And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying , Alas, my brother!31And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:32For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.34And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
1 Kings 13
English Standard Version
A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam
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. (1Ki 12:33; 2Ki 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.’” (1Ki 13:32; 2Ki 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.’” (Jud 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. (Ex 8:8; Ex 9:28; Ex 10:17; Nu 21:7; Ac 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.” (1Sa 9:7; 2Ki 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, (Nu 22:18; Nu 24:13; 1Ki 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. (1Ki 13:25; 2Ki 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, (1Ki 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.’” (1Ki 20:35; 1Th 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. (1Ki 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. (1Ki 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. (2Ki 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.” (1Ki 12:31; 1Ki 13:2; 1Ki 16:24; 2Ki 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. (1Ki 12:30; 1Ki 14:10; 1Ki 15:29; 2Ki 17:21)