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1 Kings 12:20-13:34
New International Version

20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.(A)

21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war(B) against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah(C) the man of God:(D) 23 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan

25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem(E) in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.[a](F)

26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,(G) they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.(H) He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”(I) 29 One he set up in Bethel,(J) and the other in Dan.(K) 30 And this thing became a sin;(L) the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.[b]

31 Jeroboam built shrines(M) on high places and appointed priests(N) from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth(O) month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel,(P) sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel.(Q) So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God(R) came from Judah to Bethel,(S) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah(T) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places(U) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign:(V) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

6 Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede(W) with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”(X)

8 But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,(Y) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread(Z) or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

11 Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

15 So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

16 The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread(AA) or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”

18 The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord:(AB) ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying(AC) to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied(AD) the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”

23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion(AE) met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25 Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

26 When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who defied(AF) the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him.”

27 The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they did so. 28 Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. 29 So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. 30 Then he laid the body in his own tomb,(AG) and they mourned over him and said, “Alas, my brother!”(AH)

31 After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones(AI) beside his bones. 32 For the message he declared by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places(AJ) in the towns of Samaria(AK) will certainly come true.”(AL)

33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways,(AM) but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts(AN) of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. 34 This was the sin(AO) of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction(AP) from the face of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
  2. 1 Kings 12:30 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text people went to the one as far as Dan
Listen to 1 Kings 12:20-13:34
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1 Kings 12:20-13:34
New King James Version

20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all (A)Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah (B)only.

21 And when (C)Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of (D)Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But (E)the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, (F)for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam’s Gold Calves

25 Then Jeroboam (G)built[a] Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built (H)Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 If these people (I)go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

28 Therefore the king asked advice, (J)made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. (K)Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in (L)Bethel, and the other he put in (M)Dan. 30 Now this thing became (N)a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made [b]shrines on the high places, (O)and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

32 Jeroboam [c]ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like (P)the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. (Q)And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had (R)devised in his own heart. And he [d]ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and (S)burned incense.

The Message of the Man of God

13 And behold, (T)a man of God went from Judah to Bethel [e]by the word of the Lord, (U)and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Then he cried out against the altar [f]by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, (V)Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be (W)burned on you.’ ” 3 And he gave (X)a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”

4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull 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. 6 Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please (Y)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 before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and (Z)I will give you a reward.”

8 But the man of God said to the king, (AA)“If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, (AB)‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ ” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

Death of the Man of God

11 Now an (AC)old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his [g]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. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons [h]had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, 14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

And he said, “I am.”

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

16 And he said, (AD)“I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. 17 For [i]I have been told (AE)by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’ ”

18 He said to 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, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)

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

20 Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “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, 22 but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the (AF)place of which the Lord said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ”

23 So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 When he was gone, (AG)a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. 25 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” 27 And he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. 30 Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, (AH)“Alas, my brother!” 31 So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; (AI)lay my bones beside his bones. 32 (AJ)For the [j]saying which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the [k]shrines on the high places which are in the cities of (AK)Samaria, will surely come to pass.”

33 (AL)After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. 34 (AM)And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as (AN)to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 12:25 fortified
  2. 1 Kings 12:31 Lit. a house; cf. 1 Kin. 13:32, lit. houses
  3. 1 Kings 12:32 instituted
  4. 1 Kings 12:33 instituted
  5. 1 Kings 13:1 at the Lord’s command
  6. 1 Kings 13:2 at the Lord’s command
  7. 1 Kings 13:11 Lit. son
  8. 1 Kings 13:12 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. showed him
  9. 1 Kings 13:17 Lit. a command came to me by
  10. 1 Kings 13:32 Lit. word
  11. 1 Kings 13:32 Lit. houses
Listen to 1 Kings 12:20-13:34
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1 Kings 12:20-13:34
New American Standard Bible

20 And it came about, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel. (A)None except the tribe of Judah alone followed the house of David.

21 (B)Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to (C)Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the (D)rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: “You shall not go up nor fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return, every man to his house, (E)for this thing has come from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned to go their way in accordance with the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam’s Idolatry

25 Then (F)Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived [a]there. And he went out from there and built (G)Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. 27 (H)If this people go up to [b]offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king [c]consulted, and he (I)made two golden (J)calves; and he said to [d]the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; (K)behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set up (L)one in (M)Bethel, and the other he put in (N)Dan. 30 Now (O)this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 And (P)he made houses on high places, and [e](Q)appointed priests from [f]all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 Jeroboam also [g]instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, (R)like the feast that is in Judah, and he [h]went up to the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel (S)the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 Then he [i]went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, the month that he had [j](T)devised [k]in his own heart; and he [l]instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and [m]went up to the altar (U)to burn [n]incense.

Jeroboam Warned, Stricken

13 Now behold, (V)a man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar (W)to burn incense. 2 And (X)he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, (Y)Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.’” 3 Then he gave a [o]sign on the same day, saying, “(Z)This is the [p]sign which the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn to pieces and the [q]ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’” 4 Now when the king heard the statement of the man of God which he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand which he had stretched out toward him dried up, and he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn to pieces and the [r]ashes were poured out from the altar, in accordance with the [s]sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 And the king responded and said to the man of God, “Please [t](AA)appease the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” So (AB)the man of God [u]appeased the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and (AC)I will give you a gift.” 8 But the man of God said to the king, “(AD)If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. 9 For so [v]it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he had come to Bethel.

The Disobedient Prophet

11 Now (AE)an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his [w]sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they reported to their father. 12 And their father said to them, “[x]Which way did he go?” Now his sons [y]had seen the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. 14 So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under [z]an oak; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 But he said, “(AF)I cannot return with you, nor come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 For a [aa]command came to me (AG)by the word of the Lord: ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way that you came.’” 18 Then he said to him, “(AH)I too am a prophet like you, and (AI)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 (AJ)he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

20 Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have [ab]disobeyed the [ac]command of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “You are not to eat bread nor drink water”; your dead body will not come to the grave of your fathers.’” 23 It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 Now when he had gone, (AK)a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told about it in the city where (AL)the old prophet had lived.

26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God, who [ad]disobeyed the [ae]command 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.” 27 Then he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his body thrown on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor [af]harmed the donkey. 29 So the prophet picked 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. 30 He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “(AM)Oh, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he talked to his sons, saying, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; (AN)lay my bones beside his bones. 32 (AO)For the thing will certainly come to pass which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar that is in Bethel, and (AP)against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of (AQ)Samaria.”

33 After this event, Jeroboam did not [ag]abandon his evil way, but he (AR)again [ah]appointed priests of the high places from [ai]all the people; (AS)anyone who wanted, he ordained, and he became [aj]one of the priests of the high places. 34 [ak](AT)This event also became a sin of the house of Jeroboam, (AU)even to wipe it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 12:25 Lit in it
  2. 1 Kings 12:27 Lit do
  3. 1 Kings 12:28 Lit took counsel
  4. 1 Kings 12:28 Lit them
  5. 1 Kings 12:31 Lit made
  6. 1 Kings 12:31 Lit the extremities of the
  7. 1 Kings 12:32 Lit made
  8. 1 Kings 12:32 Or offered upon
  9. 1 Kings 12:33 Or offered upon
  10. 1 Kings 12:33 Lit made
  11. 1 Kings 12:33 Lit from
  12. 1 Kings 12:33 Lit made
  13. 1 Kings 12:33 Or offered upon
  14. 1 Kings 12:33 Or sacrifices
  15. 1 Kings 13:3 Or wonder
  16. 1 Kings 13:3 Or wonder
  17. 1 Kings 13:3 Lit ashes of fat
  18. 1 Kings 13:5 Lit ashes of fat
  19. 1 Kings 13:5 Or wonder
  20. 1 Kings 13:6 Lit soften the face of
  21. 1 Kings 13:6 Lit softened the face of
  22. 1 Kings 13:9 Lit He commanded me
  23. 1 Kings 13:11 Lit son
  24. 1 Kings 13:12 Lit Where is this, the way he went
  25. 1 Kings 13:12 Some ancient versions showed him
  26. 1 Kings 13:14 Or a terebinth
  27. 1 Kings 13:17 Lit word
  28. 1 Kings 13:21 Lit rebelled against
  29. 1 Kings 13:21 Lit mouth
  30. 1 Kings 13:26 Lit rebelled against
  31. 1 Kings 13:26 Lit mouth
  32. 1 Kings 13:28 Lit broken
  33. 1 Kings 13:33 Lit turn away from
  34. 1 Kings 13:33 Lit made
  35. 1 Kings 13:33 Lit the extremities of the
  36. 1 Kings 13:33 Ancient versions a priest of
  37. 1 Kings 13:34 As in LXX and Targum; MT By this event also it became
Close NLT

1 Kings 12:20-13:34
New Living Translation

20 When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam’s return from Egypt, they called an assembly and made him king over all Israel. So only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David.

Shemaiah’s Prophecy

21 When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—180,000 select troops—to fight against the men of Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself.

22 But God said to Shemaiah, the man of God, 23 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the people of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not fight against your relatives, the Israelites. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!’” So they obeyed the message of the Lord and went home, as the Lord had commanded.

Jeroboam Makes Gold Calves

25 Jeroboam then built up the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he went and built up the town of Peniel.[a]

26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. 27 When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.”

28 So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people,[b] “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”

29 He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. 30 But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there.

31 Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. 32 And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month,[c] in imitation of the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at Bethel he himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made, and he appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made. 33 So on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day that he himself had designated, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar at Bethel. He instituted a religious festival for Israel, and he went up to the altar to burn incense.

A Prophet Denounces Jeroboam

13 At the Lord’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. 2 Then at the Lord’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.” 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The Lord has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.”

4 When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. 5 At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the Lord.

6 The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the Lord your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again.

7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.”

8 But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. 9 For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” 10 So he left Bethel and went home another way.

11 As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons[d] came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. 12 The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they showed their father[e] which road the man of God had taken. 13 “Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it.

14 Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“Yes, I am,” he replied.

15 Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.”

16 “No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. 17 For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”

18 But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. 19 So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home.

20 Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the Lord came to the old prophet. 21 He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: You have defied the word of the Lord and have disobeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You came back to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.”

23 After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, 24 and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25 People who passed by saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived.

26 When the prophet heard the report, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the Lord’s command. The Lord has fulfilled his word by causing the lion to attack and kill him.”

27 Then the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled a donkey, 28 and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. 29 So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the town to mourn over him and bury him. 30 He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, “Oh, my brother!”

31 Afterward the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the message the Lord told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.”

33 But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the common people. He appointed anyone who wanted to become a priest for the pagan shrines. 34 This became a great sin and resulted in the utter destruction of Jeroboam’s dynasty from the face of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. 12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant spelling of Peniel.
  2. 12:28 Hebrew to them.
  3. 12:32 This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late October or early November, exactly one month after the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah (see Lev 23:34).
  4. 13:11 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads son.
  5. 13:12 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads They had seen.
Listen to 1 Kings 12:20-13:34
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1 Kings 12:20-13:34
The Message

Jeroboam of Israel

20 When the word was out that Jeroboam was back and available, the assembled people invited him and inaugurated him king over all Israel. The only tribe left to the Davidic dynasty was Judah.

21 When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem, he called up the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 of their best soldiers, to go to war against Israel and recover the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

22-24 At this time the word of God came to Shemaiah, a man of God: “Tell this to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, along with everyone in Judah and Benjamin and anyone else who is around: This is God’s word: Don’t march out; don’t fight against your brothers the Israelites; go back home, every last one of you; I’m in charge here.” And they did it; they did what God said and went home.

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25 Jeroboam made a fort at Shechem in the hills of Ephraim, and made that his headquarters. He also built a fort at Penuel.

26-27 But then Jeroboam thought, “It won’t be long before the kingdom is reunited under David. As soon as these people resume worship at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, they’ll start thinking of Rehoboam king of Judah as their ruler. They’ll then kill me and go back to King Rehoboam.”

28-30 So the king came up with a plan: He made two golden calves. Then he announced, “It’s too much trouble for you to go to Jerusalem to worship. Look at these—the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” He put one calf in Bethel; the other he placed in Dan. This was blatant sin. Think of it—people traveling all the way to Dan to worship a calf!

31-33 And that wasn’t the end of it. Jeroboam built forbidden shrines all over the place and recruited priests from wherever he could find them, regardless of whether they were fit for the job or not. To top it off, he created a holy New Year festival to be held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month to replace the one in Judah, complete with worship offered on the Altar at Bethel and sacrificing before the calves he had set up there. He staffed Bethel with priests from the local shrines he had made. This was strictly his own idea to compete with the feast in Judah; and he carried it off with flair, a festival exclusively for Israel, Jeroboam himself leading the worship at the Altar.

13 1-3 And then this happened: Just as Jeroboam was at the Altar, about to make an offering, a holy man came from Judah by God’s command and preached (these were God’s orders) to the Altar: “Altar, Altar! God’s message! ‘A son will be born into David’s family named Josiah. The priests from the shrines who are making offerings on you, he will sacrifice—on you! Human bones burned on you!’” At the same time he announced a sign: “This is the proof God gives—the Altar will split into pieces and the holy offerings spill into the dirt.”

4-5 When the king heard the message the holy man preached against the Altar at Bethel, he reached out to grab him, yelling, “Arrest him!” But his arm was paralyzed and hung useless. At the same time the Altar broke apart and the holy offerings all spilled into the dirt—the very sign the holy man had announced by God’s command.

6 The king pleaded with the holy man, “Help me! Pray to your God for the healing of my arm.” The holy man prayed for him and the king’s arm was healed—as good as new!

7 Then the king invited the holy man, “Join me for a meal; I have a gift for you.”

8-10 The holy man told the king, “Not on your life! You couldn’t pay me enough to get me to sit down with you at a meal in this place. I’m here under God’s orders, and he commanded, ‘Don’t eat a crumb, don’t drink a drop, and don’t go back the way you came.’” Then he left by a different road than the one on which he had walked to Bethel.

11 There was an old prophet who lived in Bethel. His sons came and told him the story of what the holy man had done that day in Bethel, told him everything that had happened and what the holy man had said to the king.

12 Their father said, “Which way did he go?” His sons pointed out the road that the holy man from Judah had taken.

13-14 He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” When they had saddled it, he got on and rode after the holy man. He found him sitting under an oak tree.

He asked him, “Are you the holy man who came from Judah?”

“Yes, I am,” he said.

15 “Well, come home with me and have a meal.”

16-17 “Sorry, I can’t do that,” the holy man said. “I can neither go back with you nor eat with you in this country. I’m under strict orders from God: ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop; and don’t come back the way you came.’”

18-19 But he said, “I am also a prophet, just like you. And an angel came to me with a message from God: ‘Bring him home with you, and give him a good meal!’” But the man was lying. So the holy man went home with him and they had a meal together.

20-22 There they were, sitting at the table together, when the word of God came to the prophet who had brought him back. He confronted the holy man who had come from Judah: “God’s word to you: You disobeyed God’s command; you didn’t keep the strict orders your God gave you; you came back and sat down to a good meal in the very place God told you, ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop.’ For that you’re going to die far from home and not be buried in your ancestral tomb.”

23-25 When the meal was over, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. Down the road a way, a lion met him and killed him. His corpse lay crumpled on the road, the lion on one side and the donkey on the other. Some passersby saw the corpse in a heap on the road, with the lion standing guard beside it. They went to the village where the old prophet lived and told what they had seen.

26 When the prophet who had gotten him off track heard it, he said, “It’s the holy man who disobeyed God’s strict orders. God turned him over to the lion who knocked him around and killed him, just as God had told him.”

27-30 The prophet told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” They did it. He rode out and found the corpse in a heap in the road, with the lion and the donkey standing there. The lion hadn’t bothered either the corpse or the donkey. The old prophet loaded the corpse of the holy man on his donkey and returned it to his own town to give it a decent burial. He placed the body in his own tomb. The people mourned, saying, “A sad day, brother!”

31-32 After the funeral, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the same tomb where the holy man is buried, my bones alongside his bones. The message that he preached by God’s command against the Altar at Bethel and against all the sex-and-religion shrines in the towns of Samaria will come true.”

33-34 After this happened, Jeroboam kept right on doing evil, recruiting priests for the forbidden shrines indiscriminately—anyone who wanted to could be a priest at one of the local shrines. This was the root sin of Jeroboam’s government. And it was this that ruined him.

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