The First Book of the Kings

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- Chapter 13 -

(2 Kings 23:4–20; 2 Chronicles 34:3–7)

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.

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.’ ”

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Then the king said to the man of God: “Come home with me, so that you may dine. And I will give you gifts.”

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.

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.’ ”

Then he departed by another way, and he did not return along the way that he had traveled to Bethel.

The Old Prophet and the Man of God

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.

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.

And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled it, he climbed on,

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.”

And he said to him, “Come home with me, so that you may eat bread.”

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.

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.”

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.(a)

And he led him back with him. Then he ate bread and drank water in his house.

And while they were sitting at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had led him back.

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,

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.”

And when he had eaten and had drunk, he saddled his donkey for the prophet whom he had led back.

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.(b)

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.

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.”

And he said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” And when they had saddled it,

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.

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.

And he placed his dead body in his own sepulcher. And they mourned for him, saying: “Alas! Alas! My brother!”

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.

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.”

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.

And for this reason, the house of Jeroboam sinned, and was uprooted, and was wiped from the face of the earth.

Footnotes

(a)13:18 An angel spoke to me, etc:This old man of Bethel was indeed a prophet, but he sinned in thus deceiving the man of God; the more because he pretended a revelation for what he did.(Challoner)

(b)13:24 Killed him:Thus the Lord often punishes his servants here, that he may spare them hereafter. For the generality of divines are of opinion, that the sin of this prophet, considered with all its circumstances, was not mortal.(Challoner)

(2 Kings 23:4–20; 2 Chronicles 34:3–7)

Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the LORD’s word to Bethel; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.

He cried against the altar by the LORD’s word, and said, “Altar! Altar! the LORD says: ‘Behold, a son will be born to David’s house, Josiah by name. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men’s bones on you.’”

He gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”

When the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, 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.

The altar was also split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the LORD’s word.

The king answered the man of God, “Now intercede for the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again.” The man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him again, and became as it was before.

The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”

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;

for so was it commanded me by the LORD’s word, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, drink no water, and don’t return by the way that you came.’”

So he went another way, and didn’t return by the way that he came to Bethel.

The Old Prophet and the Man of God

Now an old prophet lived 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. They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.

He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it.

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.”

Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”

He said, “I may not return with you, nor go in with you. I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place.

For it was said to me by the LORD’s word, ‘You shall eat no bread or drink water there, and don’t turn again to go by the way that you came.’”

He said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the LORD’s word, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him.

So he went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water.

As they sat at the table, the LORD’s word came to the prophet who brought him back;

and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “The LORD says, ‘Because you have been disobedient to the LORD’s word, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,

but came back, and have eaten bread and drank water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread, and drink no water,” your body will not come to the tomb of your fathers.’”

After he had eaten bread and after he drank, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.

When he had gone, a lion met him by the way and killed him. His body was thrown on the path, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the body.

Behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the path, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.

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 LORD’s word. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has mauled him and slain him, according to the LORD’s word which he spoke to him.”

He said to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they saddled it.

He went and found his body thrown on the path, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body nor mauled the donkey.

The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. He came to the city of the old prophet to mourn, and to bury him.

He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!”

After he had buried him, he 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.

For the saying which he cried by the LORD’s word against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely happen.”

After this thing, Jeroboam didn’t turn from his evil way, but again made priests of the high places from among all the people. Whoever wanted to, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.

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.