1 Kings 13
1 And lo, a man of God hath come from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, unto Beth-El, and Jeroboam is standing by the altar — to make perfume;
One day a prophet, obeying what Yahweh commanded him to do, went from Judah [north] to Bethel. He arrived there right at the time that Jeroboam was standing at the altar, ready to burn incense.
2 and he calleth against the altar, by the word of Jehovah, and saith, 'Altar! altar! thus said Jehovah, Lo, a son is born to the house of David — Josiah his name — and he hath sacrificed on thee the priests of the high places who are making perfume on thee, and bones of man are burnt on thee.'
Saying what Yahweh told him to say, the prophet shouted, “This is what Yahweh says [about this] altar [APO]: ‘I want you to know that [some day] a descendant [MTY] of King David will be born. His name will be Josiah, and he will come here. He will slaughter at this altar the priests who are burning incense for sacrifices on the hills [in this area], and he will burn the bones of dead people on this altar.’” [APO]
3 And he hath given on that day a sign, saying, 'This [is] the sign that Jehovah hath spoken, Lo, the altar is rent, and the ashes poured forth that [are] on it.'
Then the prophet also said, “This is what will prove to you that Yahweh has said this: This altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be scattered.’”
4 And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the word of the man of God that he calleth against the altar in Beth-El, that Jeroboam putteth forth his hand from off the altar, saying, 'Catch him;' and his hand is dried up that he hath put forth against him, and he is not able to bring it back unto him,
When King Jeroboam heard the prophet say that, he pointed his finger at him and said to his servants, “Seize that man!” But immediately the king’s arm became paralyzed/stiff, with the result that he could not move it.
5 and the altar is rent, and the ashes poured forth from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah.
And the altar immediately split apart, and the ashes spilled out [on the ground], which is what the prophet said that Yahweh [MTY] had predicted would happen.
6 And the king answereth and saith unto the man of God, 'Appease, I pray thee, the face of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, and my hand doth come back unto me;' and the man of God appeaseth the face of Jehovah, and the hand of the king cometh back unto him, and it is as at the beginning.
Then the king said to the prophet, “Please pray that Yahweh will be merciful to me and heal my arm!” So the prophet prayed, and Yahweh completely healed the king’s arm.
7 And the king speaketh unto the man of God, 'Come in with me to the house, and refresh thyself, and I give to thee a gift.'
Then the king said to the prophet, “Come home with me and eat some food. And I will also give you a reward [for what you have done]!”
8 And the man of God saith unto the king, 'If thou dost give to me the half of thine house, I do not go in with thee, nor do I eat bread, nor do I drink water, in this place;
But the prophet replied, “Even if you would [promise to] give me half of everything that you own [MTY], I will not go with you, and I will not eat or drink anything with you here,
9 for so He commanded me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water, nor turn back in the way that thou hast come.'
because Yahweh commanded me not to eat or drink anything here. He also commanded me not to return home on the road on which I came here.”
10 And he goeth on in another way, and hath not turned back in the way in which he came in unto Beth-El.
So he started to return home, but he did not go on the road on which he came to Bethel. He went on a different road.
11 And a certain aged prophet is dwelling in Beth-El, and his son cometh and recounteth to him all the deed that the man of God hath done to-day in Beth-El, the words that he hath spoken unto the king, — yea, they recount them to their father.
At that time there was an old man living in Bethel who was a prophet. His sons came and told him what the prophet [from Judah] had done there on that day, and they also told him what the prophet had said to the king.
12 And their father saith unto them, 'Where [is] this — the way he hath gone?' and his sons see the way that the man of God hath gone who came from Judah.
Their father said, “On which road did he go?” So his sons showed him the road on which the prophet from Judah had gone [when he left Bethel].
13 And he saith unto his sons, 'Saddle for me the ass,' and they saddle for him the ass, and he rideth on it,
Then he said to his sons, “Put a saddle on my donkey.” So they did that, and he got on the donkey.
14 and goeth after the man of God, and findeth him sitting under the oak, and saith unto him, 'Art thou the man of God who hast come from Judah?' and he saith, 'I [am].'
He went along the road to (find/catch up with) the prophet from Judah. He found him sitting under an oak tree. He said to him, “Are you the prophet who came from Judah?” He replied, “Yes, I am.”
15 And he saith unto him, 'Come with me to the house, and eat bread.'
The old prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.”
16 And he saith, 'I am not able to turn back with thee, and to go in with thee, nor do I eat bread or drink with thee water in this place,
He replied, “No, I am not allowed to go with you into your house, or to eat or drink anything with you,
17 for a word [is] unto me by the word of Jehovah, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink there water, thou dost not turn back to go in the way in which thou camest.'
because Yahweh told me, ‘Do not eat or drink anything here, and do not return home on the road on which you came.’”
18 And he saith to him, 'I also [am] a prophet like thee, and a messenger spake unto me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Bring him back with thee unto thy house, and he doth eat bread and drink water;' — he hath lied to him.
Then the old prophet said to him, “I also am a prophet, like you are. Yahweh sent an angel to tell me that I should take you home with me and give you some food and drink.” But the old man was lying [when he said that].
19 And he turneth back with him, and eateth bread in his house, and drinketh water.
But because of what the old prophet said, the prophet from Judah returned with him to his home and ate some food and drank some water with him.
20 And it cometh to pass — they are sitting at the table — and a word of Jehovah is unto the prophet who brought him back,
While they were sitting at the table, Yahweh spoke to the old man.
21 and he calleth unto the man of God who came from Judah, saying, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because that thou hast provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and hast not kept the command that Jehovah thy God charged thee,
Then he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You have disobeyed him, and you have not done what he commanded you to do.
22 and turnest back and dost eat bread and drink water in the place of which He said unto thee, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water — thy carcase cometh not in unto the burying-place of thy fathers.'
Instead, you have come back here and had things to eat and drink in a place where he commanded you not to do that. As a result, you will be killed, and your body will not be buried in the grave where your ancestors are buried.’”
23 And it cometh to pass, after his eating bread, and after his drinking, that he saddleth for him the ass, for the prophet whom he had brought back,
When they had finished eating, the old man put a saddle on the donkey for the prophet from Judah, [and the prophet from Judah left].
24 and he goeth, and a lion findeth him in the way, and putteth him to death, and his carcase is cast in the way, and the ass is standing near it, and the lion is standing near the carcase.
But as he was going, a lion met him and killed him. The prophet’s corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it, and the lion was also standing beside the corpse.
25 And lo, men are passing by, and see the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing near the carcase, and they come and speak [of it] in the city in which the old prophet is dwelling.
Some men passed by and were surprised to see the corpse on the road and the lion standing next to the corpse. So they went into Bethel and reported what they had seen.
26 And the prophet who brought him back out of the way heareth and saith, 'It [is] the man of God who provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth him to the lion, and it destroyeth him, and putteth him to death, according to the word of Jehovah that he spake to him.'
When the old man who had brought the prophet from Judah to his home heard about it, he said, “That is the prophet who disobeyed what Yahweh told him to do! That is why Yahweh allowed the lion to attack him and kill him. That is what Yahweh said would happen!”
27 And he speaketh unto his sons saying, 'Saddle for me the ass,' and they saddle [it].
Then he said to his sons, “Put a saddle on my donkey.” So they did that.
28 And he goeth and findeth his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion are standing near the carcase — the lion hath not eaten the carcase nor destroyed the ass.
Then he rode on the donkey and found the prophet’s corpse on the road, and his donkey and the lion were still standing there alongside the corpse. But the lion had not eaten any of the flesh of the prophet and had not attacked the donkey.
29 And the prophet taketh up the carcase of the man of God, and placeth it on the ass, and bringeth it back, and the old prophet cometh in unto the city to mourn and to bury him,
The old man picked up the corpse of the prophet and put it on his donkey and brought it back to Bethel, in order to mourn for him and to bury his corpse.
30 and he placeth his carcase in his own grave, and they mourn for him, 'Oh, my brother!'
He buried the prophet’s corpse in the grave where other people in his family [had been buried]. Then he and his sons mourned for him, saying, “[We are very sorry], my brother!”
31 And it cometh to pass, after his burying him, that he speaketh unto his sons, saying, 'At my death — ye have buried me in the burying-place in which the man of God is buried; near his bones place my bones;
After they had buried him, the old man said to his sons, “When I die, bury my corpse in the grave where we buried the prophet from Judah. Lay my corpse next to his corpse.
32 for the word certainly cometh to pass that he called by the word of Jehovah concerning the altar which [is] Beth-El, and concerning all the houses of the high places that [are] in cities of Samaria.'
[And do not forget what he said, because] the things that Yahweh told him to say about the altar in Bethel, and about the shrines on the hills in the towns in Samaria, will surely happen.”
33 After this thing Jeroboam hath not turned from his evil way, and turneth back, and maketh of the extremities of the people priests of high places; he who is desirous he consecrateth his hand, and he is of the priests of the high places.
But King Jeroboam still did not turn away from continuing to do evil things. Instead, he appointed more priests [who were not descended from Levi]. Anyone who wanted to be a priest, he appointed to be a priest, in order that he could offer sacrifices on the hills.
34 And in this thing is the sin of the house of Jeroboam, even to cut [it] off, and to destroy [it] from off the face of the ground.
Because he committed that sin, [a few years later] God got rid of most of Jeroboam’s descendants and did not allow them to become kings of Israel.
