< 1 Kings 13 >

1 A man of God came out of Judah by the word of Yahweh to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer.
2 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.'”
And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said: 'O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon thee.'
3 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.'”
And 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.'
4 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.
And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam 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 draw it back to him.
5 (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.)
The 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.
6 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.
And the king answered and said unto the man of God: 'Entreat now the favour of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me.' And the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him, and became 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 unto the man of God: 'Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.'
8 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,
And the man of God said unto the king: 'If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place.
9 because Yahweh commanded me by his word, 'You will eat no bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.'”
For it so was charged me by the word of the LORD, saying: Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest.'
10 So the man of God left another way and did not return to his home by the way that he had come to Bethel.
So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.
11 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.
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el, and the words which he had spoken unto the king, and they told them unto their father.
12 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.
And their father said unto them: 'What way went he?' For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, that came from Judah.
13 So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey and he rode off on it.
And he said unto his sons: 'Saddle me the ass.' So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon.
14 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.”
And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said unto him: 'Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah?' And he said: 'I am.'
15 Then the old prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat food.”
Then he said unto him: 'Come home with me, and eat bread.'
16 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,
And 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.
17 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.'”
For it was said to me by the word of the LORD: Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn back to go by the way that thou camest.'
18 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.
And he said unto him: 'I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of the LORD, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water.' — He lied unto him. —
19 So the man of God went back with the old prophet and ate food in his house and drank water.
So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 As they sat at the table, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who had brought him back,
And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back.
21 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,
And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying: 'Thus saith the LORD: Forasmuch as thou hast rebelled against the word of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
22 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.'”
but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to thee: Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.'
23 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.
And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, namely, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 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.
And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him; and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the carcass.
25 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.
And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26 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.”
And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said: 'It is the man of God, who rebelled against 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 spoke unto him.'
27 So the old prophet spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle my donkey,” and they saddled it.
And he spoke to his sons, saying: 'Saddle me the ass.' And they saddled it.
28 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.
And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass; the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor torn the ass.
29 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.
And the prophet took up the carcass 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, and to bury him.
30 He laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “Woe, my brother!”
And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they made lamentation for him: 'Alas, my brother!'
31 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.
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; lay my bones beside his bones.
32 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.”
For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.'
33 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.
After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places; whosoever would, he consecrated him, that he might be one of the priests of the high places.
34 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.
And by this thing there was 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 >