< 1 Kings 13 >
1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el: while Jerobo'am was standing upon the altar to burn incense.
A man of God came out of Judah by the word of Yahweh to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he called out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and he said, O altar, altar, thus hath said the Lord, Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice upon thee the priests of the high-places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh: “Altar, altar! This is what Yahweh says, 'See, a son named Josiah will be born to the family of David, and on you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now burn incense on you. On you they will burn human bones.'”
3 And he gave on the same day a token, saying, This is the token that the Lord hath spoken, Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes which are upon it shall be spilled about.
Then the man of God gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that Yahweh has spoken: 'Look, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out.'”
4 And it came to pass, when the king heard the word of the man of God, which he had called out against the altar in Beth-el, that Jerobo'am stretched forth his hand from off the altar, saying, Seize him. And his hand, which he had put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.
When the king heard what the man of God said, that he had cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam reached out with his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” Then the hand with which he had reached out against the man dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.
5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes were spilled about from the altar, according to the token which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
(The altar was also split apart and the ashes poured out from the altar, as described by the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Yahweh.)
6 And the king commenced and said unto the man of God, Offer but entreaty before the Lord thy God, and pray in behalf of me, that my hand may return to me again. And the man of God offered his entreaty before the Lord, and the king's hand returned to him again, and became as it was before.
King Jeroboam answered and said to the man of God, “Plead for the favor of Yahweh your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me again.” So the man of God prayed to Yahweh, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and it became as it was before.
7 And the king spoke unto the man of God, Come home with me, and take some refreshment, and I will give thee a present.
The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
8 But the man of God said unto the king, If thou wert to give me the half of thy house, I would not go in with thee, neither would I eat bread nor drink water in this place;
The man of God said to the king, “Even if you give me half your possessions, I will not go with you, nor will I eat food or drink water in this place,
9 For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Thou shalt not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou camest.
because Yahweh commanded me by his word, 'You will eat no bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.'”
10 So he went by another way, and returned not by the way on which he was come to Beth-el.
So the man of God left another way and did not return to his home by the way that he had come to Bethel.
11 Now there dwelt a certain old prophet in Beth-el; and his son came and told him all the deed that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words [also] which he had spoken unto the king, these too they told to their father.
Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and one of his sons came and told him all the things that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. His sons also told him the words that the man of God had spoken to the king.
12 And their father spoke unto them, What way did he go? His sons however had seen what way had gone the man of God, who had come from Judah.
Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen the way the man of God from Judah had gone.
13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass, and he rode away thereon,
So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey and he rode off on it.
14 And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under the oak; and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
The old prophet went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” He answered, “I am.”
15 Then said he unto him, Come with me home, and eat bread.
Then the old prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat food.”
16 And he said, I cannot return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place;
The man of God answered, “I may not return with you nor go in with you, neither will I eat food nor drink water with you in this place,
17 For a command came to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt not eat bread nor drink water there; thou shalt not return to go by the way [also] by which thou camest.
because it was commanded to me by the word of Yahweh, 'You will eat no food nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.'”
18 And he said unto him, I also am a prophet like thee; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee unto thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
So the old prophet said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, 'Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat food and drink water.'” But he was lying to the man of God.
19 So he returned with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
So the man of God went back with the old prophet and ate food in his house and drank water.
20 And it came to pass, as they were sitting at the table, That the word of the Lord came unto the prophet who had brought him back;
As they sat at the table, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who had brought him back,
21 And he called unto the man of God that was come from Judah, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the order of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God had commanded thee;
and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Yahweh says, 'Because you have been disobedient to the word of Yahweh and have not kept the command that Yahweh your God gave you,
22 But didst return, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of which he had spoken to thee, Thou shalt not eat bread, nor drink water: thy dead body shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
but came back and have eaten food and drunk water in the place about which Yahweh told you to eat no food and drink no water, your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.'”
23 And 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.
After he had eaten food and after he had drunk, the prophet saddled the donkey of the man of God, the man who had come back with him.
24 And when he was gone, a lion met him on the way, and slew him; and his corpse remained cast down on the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the corpse.
When the man of God was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left on the road. Then the donkey stood by it, and the lion also stood by the body.
25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the corpse cast down on the way, and the lion standing by the corpse; and they came and spoke of it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
When men passed by and saw the body left on the road, and the lion standing by the body, they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26 And when the prophet that had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, It is the man of God who was disobedient unto the order of the Lord; wherefore the Lord hath given him up unto the lion, who hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him.
When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of Yahweh. Therefore Yahweh gave him to the lion, which tore him to pieces and killed him, just as the word of Yahweh warned him.”
27 And he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
So the old prophet spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle my donkey,” and they saddled it.
28 And he went and found his corpse cast down on the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the corpse: the lion had not eaten the corpse, nor torn the ass.
He went and found the body left in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body, nor attacked the donkey.
29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet, to lament for, and to bury him.
The prophet took up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. He came to his own city to mourn and to bury him.
30 And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre; and they lamented over him, “Alas, my brother!”
He laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “Woe, my brother!”
31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; beside his bones lay ye my bones;
Then after he had buried him, the old prophet 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.
32 For the thing which he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar which is in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high-places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely come to pass.
For the message he declared by the word of Yahweh, against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses on the high places in the cities of Samaria, will certainly happen.”
33 After this event Jerobo'am returned not from his evil way; but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high-places: whosoever desired it, he consecrated, that he might become one of the priests of the high-places.
After this Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but continued to appoint common priests for the high places from among all sorts of people. Any who would serve he consecrated as a priest.
34 And he became through this thing the cause of sin unto the house of Jerobo'am, and to cause that it was blotted out, and destroyed from off the face of the earth.
This matter became sin to the family of Jeroboam and caused his family to be destroyed and to be exterminated from the face of the earth.