< 1 Kings 13 >
1 Look, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Beth El: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
And behold, by the word of the Lord, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel, when Jeroboam was standing over the altar, and burning incense.
2 He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "Altar, altar, thus says the LORD: 'Look, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name. On you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men's bones on you.'"
And by the word of the Lord, he cried out against the altar. And he said: “O altar, O altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name. And upon you, he will immolate the priests of the high places, who now burn incense upon you. And upon you, he will burn up the bones of men.’”
3 He gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Look, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out."
And he gave a sign on the same day, saying: “This will be the sign that the Lord has spoken. Behold, the altar shall be torn apart, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.”
4 It happened, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that 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.
And when the king had heard the word of the man of God, which he had cried out against the altar at Bethel, he extended his hand from the altar, saying, “Apprehend him!” But his hand, which he had extended against him, withered. And he was unable to draw it back to himself.
5 The altar also was split apart, 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.
Also, the altar was torn apart, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, in accord with the sign that the man of God had predicted by the word of the Lord.
6 The king answered the man of God, "Now plead for the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again." The man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat the face of the Lord your God, and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God prayed before the face of the Lord, and the hand of the king was restored to him, and it became as it had been before.
7 The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."
Then the king said to the man of God: “Come home with me, so that you may dine. And I will give you gifts.”
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;
And the man of God responded to the king: “Even if you will give me one half part of your house, I will not go with you, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this place.
9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.'"
For so it was commanded to me by the word of the Lord, ordering: ‘You shall not eat bread, and you shall not drink water, nor shall you return by the way that you came.’”
10 So he went another way, and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.
Then he departed by another way, and he did not return along the way that he had traveled to Bethel.
11 Now there lived an old prophet 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. And they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.
Now a certain elderly prophet was living in Bethel. His sons went to him, and they described to him all the works which the man of God had accomplished on that day in Bethel. And they described to their father the words that he had spoken to the king.
12 Their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" Now his sons showed him the way the man of God went, who came from Judah.
And their father said to them, “By which way did he depart?” His sons showed him the way by which the man of God, who had come from Judah, had departed.
13 He said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it.
And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled it, he climbed on,
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 he went away after the man of God. And he found him sitting under a terebinth tree. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he responded, “I am.”
15 Then he said to him, "Come home with me, and eat bread."
And he said to him, “Come home with me, so that you may eat bread.”
16 He said, "I may not return with you, nor go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place.
But he said: “I am not able to turn back, nor to go with you. Neither will I eat bread, or drink water in this place.
17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, 'You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came.'"
For the Lord has spoken to me, by the word of the Lord, saying, “You shall not eat bread, and you shall not drink water in that place, nor shall you return by the way that you arrived.”
18 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.'" He lied to him.
And he said to him: “I, too, am a prophet like you. And an Angel spoke to me, by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Lead him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread, and drink water.’” And so he deceived him.
19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
And he led him back with him. Then he ate bread and drank water in his house.
20 It happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who brought him back;
And while they were sitting at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had led him back.
21 and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have been disobedient to the mouth of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,
And he cried out to the man of God who had arrived from Judah, saying: “Thus says the Lord: Because you were not obedient to the mouth of the Lord, and you did not keep the commandment that the Lord your God instructed to you,
22 but came 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.'"
and you turned back, and ate bread, and drank water in the place where he commanded you that you should not eat bread, nor drink water: your dead body shall not be carried back to the sepulcher of your fathers.”
23 It happened, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.
And when he had eaten and had drunk, he saddled his donkey for the prophet whom he had led back.
24 When he had gone, a lion met him by the way, and killed him. His body was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the body.
And when he had departed, a lion found him along the way, and it killed him, and his dead body was left upon the road. Now the donkey was standing beside him. And the lion was standing beside the dead body.
25 Look, men passed by, and saw the body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
And behold, men who were passing by saw the dead body lying in the road, with the lion standing beside the body. And they went and made it widely known in the city where that elderly 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 mouth of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has mauled him and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke to him."
And when that prophet, who had led him back from the way, had heard it, he said: “It is the man of God, who was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord. And the Lord has delivered him to the lion. And it has torn him apart and killed him, in accord with the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him.”
27 He spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle the donkey for me." They saddled it.
And he said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” And when they had saddled it,
28 He went and found his body cast in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body, nor mauled the donkey.
and he had departed, he found the dead body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the dead body. The lion did not eat from the dead body, nor did it harm the donkey.
29 The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. And he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him.
Then the prophet took the dead body of the man of God, and he placed it upon the donkey, and returning, he brought it into the city of the elderly prophet, so that he might mourn for him.
30 He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother."
And he placed his dead body in his own sepulcher. And they mourned for him, saying: “Alas! Alas! My brother!”
31 It happened, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, "When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones.
And when they had mourned over him, he said to his sons: “When I will have died, bury me in the sepulcher in which the man of God was buried. Place my bones beside his bones.
32 For the saying which he proclaimed 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, will surely happen."
For certainly, the word will arrive, which he predicted by the word of the Lord, against the altar, which is in Bethel, and against all the shrines of the high places, which are in the cities of Samaria.”
33 After this thing Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but again made priests of the high places from among all the people. He consecrated anyone who wanted to be a priest at the high places.
After these words, Jeroboam did not turn back from his very evil way. Instead, to the contrary, he made priests for the high places out of the least of the people. Whosoever was willing, he filled his hand, and he became a priest 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 for this reason, the house of Jeroboam sinned, and was uprooted, and was wiped from the face of the earth.