1 Kings 13

Jeroboam Warned, Stricken

1Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word (command) of the LORD, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar [which he had built] to burn incense. 2The man cried out against the [idolatrous] altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice [the bodies of] the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” 3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” 4When the king heard the words which the man of God cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” And his hand which he had put out against him withered, so that he was unable to pull it back to himself. 5The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar in accordance with the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6The king answered and said to the man of God, “Please entreat [the favor of] the LORD your God and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your house (wealth), I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. 9“For I was commanded by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall not eat bread or drink water, nor shall you return by the way you came.’” 10So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

The Disobedient Prophet 11Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him everything 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. 12Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons had seen which way the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it, 14and he went after the man of God. And he found him sitting under an oak (terebinth) tree, and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16He said, “I cannot return with you nor go in with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17“For I was told by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor shall you return by going the way that you came.’” 18He answered him, “I too am a prophet, as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. 19So the man of God went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

20Now it happened as they were sitting at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21And he cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, 22but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which the LORD said to you, “You shall not eat bread nor drink water”; your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers (ancestors).’” 23After the prophet of the house had eaten bread and after he had drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24Now when he had gone, a lion met him by the road and killed him, and his body was thrown in the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion was also standing beside the body. 25And there were men passing by, and they saw the body thrown in the road, and the lion standing beside the body. So they came and told about it in the city [of Bethel] where the old prophet lived.

26When the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the LORD; therefore the LORD has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke to him.” 27And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28And he went and found the body thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion [miraculously] had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey. 29Then the prophet picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back, and he came into the city (Bethel) of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. 30And he laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 31Then after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I am dead, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32“For the words which he cried out 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 shall certainly come to pass.”

33After this event, Jeroboam [still] did not turn from his evil way, but again made priests for the high places from among all the people. He ordained anyone who was willing, so that there would be priests for the high places. 34And this thing (idol worship) became the sin of the house of Jeroboam to blot it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.