1 Kings 13
1 Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the LORD’s word to Bethel; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
Then a man of God came from Judah by the order of the Lord to Beth-el, where Jeroboam was by the altar, burning offerings.
2 He cried against the altar by the LORD’s word, and said, “Altar! Altar! The LORD says: ‘Behold, a son will be born to David’s house, Josiah by name. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men’s bones on you.’”
And by the order of the Lord he made an outcry against the altar, saying, O altar, altar, the Lord has said, From the seed of David will come a child, named Josiah, and on you he will put to death the priests of the high places, who are burning offerings on you, and men's bones will be burned on you.
3 He gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”
The same day he gave them a sign, saying, This is the sign which the Lord has given: See, the altar will be broken and the burned waste on it overturned.
4 When the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” His hand, which he put out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to himself.
Then the king, hearing the man of God crying out against the altar at Beth-el, put out his hand from the altar, saying, Take him prisoner. And his hand, stretched out against him, became dead, and he had no power of pulling it back.
5 The altar was also split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the LORD’s word.
And the altar was broken and the burned waste on it overturned; this was the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
6 The king answered the man of God, “Now intercede for the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again.” The man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him again, and became as it was before.
Then the king made answer and said to the man of God, Make a prayer now for the grace of the Lord your God, and for me, that my hand may be made well. And in answer to the prayer of the man of God, the king's hand was made well again, as it was before.
7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
And the king said to the man of God, Come with me to my house for food and rest, and I will give you a reward.
8 The man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of your house, I would not go in with you, neither would I eat bread nor drink water in this place;
But the man of God said to the king, Even if you gave me half of all you have, I would not go in with you, and I would not take food or a drink of water in this place;
9 for so was it commanded me by the LORD’s word, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, drink no water, and do not return by the way that you came.’”
For so I was ordered by the word of the Lord, who said, You are not to take food or a drink of water, and you are not to go back the way you came.
10 So he went another way, and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.
So he went another way, and not by the way he came to Beth-el.
11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel, and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.
Now there was an old prophet living in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and gave him word of all the man of God had done that day in Beth-el, and they gave their father an account of the words he had said to the king.
12 Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.
Then their father said to them, Which way did he go? Now his sons had seen which way the man of God who came from Judah had gone.
13 He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it.
So the prophet said to his sons, Make ready an ass for me. So they made an ass ready, and he got on it,
14 He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” He said, “I am.”
And went after the man of God, and came up with him while he was seated under an oak-tree. And he said to him, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? And he said, I am.
15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
Then he said to him, Come back to the house with me and have a meal.
16 He said, “I may not return with you, nor go in with you. I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place.
But he said, I may not go back with you or go into your house; and I will not take food or a drink of water with you in this place;
17 For it was said to me by the LORD’s word, ‘You shall eat no bread or drink water there, and do not turn again to go by the way that you came.’”
For the Lord said to me, You are not to take food or water there, or go back again by the way you came.
18 He said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the LORD’s word, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him.
Then he said to him, I am a prophet like you; and an angel said to me by the word of the Lord, Take him back with you and give him food and water. But he said false words to him.
19 So he went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water.
So he went back with him, and had a meal in his house and a drink of water.
20 As they sat at the table, the LORD’s word came to the prophet who brought him back;
But while they were seated at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had taken him back;
21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “The LORD says, ‘Because you have been disobedient to the LORD’s word, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,
And crying out to the man of God who came from Judah, he said, The Lord says, Because you have gone against the voice of the Lord, and have not done as you were ordered by the Lord,
22 but came back, and have eaten bread and drank water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread, and drink no water,” your body will not come to the tomb of your fathers.’”
But have come back, and have taken food and water in this place where he said you were to take no food or water; your dead body will not be put to rest with your fathers.
23 After he had eaten bread and after he drank, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.
Now after the meal he made ready the ass for him, for the prophet whom he had taken back.
24 When he had gone, a lion met him by the way and killed him. His body was thrown on the path, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the body.
And he went on his way; but on the road a lion came rushing at him and put him to death; and his dead body was stretched in the road with the ass by its side, and the lion was there by the body.
25 Behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the path, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
And some men, going by, saw the body stretched out in the road with the lion by its side; and they came and gave news of it in the town where the old prophet was living.
26 When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the LORD’s word. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has mauled him and slain him, according to the LORD’s word which he spoke to him.”
Then the prophet who had made him come back, hearing it, said, It is the man of God, who went against the word of the Lord; that is why the Lord has given him to the lion to be wounded to death, as the Lord said.
27 He said to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they saddled it.
And he said to his sons, Make ready the ass for me. And they did so.
28 He went and found his body thrown on the path, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body nor mauled the donkey.
And he went and saw the dead body stretched out in the road with the ass and the lion by its side: the lion had not taken the body for its food or done any damage to the ass.
29 The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. He came to the city of the old prophet to mourn, and to bury him.
Then the prophet took up the body of the man of God and put it on the ass and took it back; and he came to the town to put the body to rest with weeping.
30 He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!”
And he put the body in the resting-place made ready for himself, weeping and sorrowing over it, saying, O my brother!
31 After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones.
And when he had put it to rest, he said to his sons, When I am dead, then you are to put my body into the earth with the body of this man of God, and put me by his bones so that my bones may be kept safe with his bones.
32 For the saying which he cried by the LORD’s word against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely happen.”
For the outcry he made by the word of the Lord against the altar in Beth-el and against all the houses of the high places in the towns of Samaria, will certainly come about.
33 After this thing, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again made priests of the high places from among all the people. Whoever wanted to, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.
After this Jeroboam, not turning back from his evil ways, still made priests for his altars from among all the people; he made a priest of anyone desiring it, so that there might be priests of the high places.
34 This thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the surface of the earth.
And this became a sin in the family of Jeroboam, causing it to be cut off and sent to destruction from the face of the earth.
