1 Kings 13
Expanded Bible
The Man of God Speaks Against Bethel
13 ·The Lord commanded [L By the word of the Lord] a man of God from Judah ·to go [went up] to Bethel. When he arrived, Jeroboam was standing by the altar to ·offer a sacrifice [burn incense]. 2 ·The Lord had commanded [L By the word of the Lord] the man of God ·to speak [spoke] against the altar. The man said, “Altar, altar, the Lord says to you: ‘David’s ·family [L house] will ·have [have born] a son named Josiah. The priests ·for the places of worship [L of the high places; 3:2] now ·make their sacrifices [burn incense] on you, but Josiah will sacrifice those priests on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” 3 That same day the man of God gave ·proof [a sign] that these things would happen. “This is the Lord’s sign that this will happen,” he said. “This altar will break apart, and the ashes on it will ·fall to the ground [spill; be poured out; 2 Kin. 23:15–16].”
4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God said ·about [against] the altar in Bethel, the king raised his hand from the altar and pointed at the man. “·Take [Seize] him!” he said. But when the king said this, his ·arm [or hand] ·was paralyzed [withered; dried up], and he could not ·move it [pull it back]. 5 The altar also broke into pieces, and its ashes ·fell to the ground [spilled; poured out]. This was the sign the ·Lord had told the man of God to give [L man had given by the word of the Lord].
6 Then the king said to the man of God, “Please ·pray to [intercede with; entreat] the Lord your God for me, and ask him to ·heal my arm [or restore my hand].”
So the man of God ·prayed to [interceded with; entreated] the Lord, and the king’s ·arm was healed [or hand was restored], becoming as it was before.
7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Please come home and ·eat with me [refresh yourself], and I will give you a gift.”
8 But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you gave me half of your ·kingdom [possessions; L house], I would not go with you. I will not ·eat or drink [L eat bread or drink water] in this place. 9 The ·Lord [L word of the Lord] commanded me not to ·eat or drink [L eat bread or drink water] nor to return on the same road by which I came.” 10 So he took a different road and did not return on the same road by which he had come to Bethel.
11 Now an old prophet was living in Bethel. His sons came and told him what the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to King Jeroboam. 12 The father asked, “Which road did he use when he left?” So his sons showed him the road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 Then the prophet told his sons to put a saddle on his donkey. So they saddled the donkey, and he ·left [mounted it].
14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. The prophet asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
The man answered, “Yes, I am.”
15 The prophet said, “Please come home and ·eat [L eat bread] with me.”
16 “I can’t go home with you,” the man of God answered. “I can’t ·eat or drink [L eat bread or drink water] with you in this place. 17 The Lord said to me, ‘Don’t ·eat or drink [L eat bread or drink water] there or return on the same road by which you came.’”
18 Then the old prophet said, “But I also am a prophet, like you.” Then he lied. “An angel from the Lord came to me and told me to bring you to my home. He said you should ·eat and drink [L eat bread and drink water] with me.” 19 So the man of God went to the old prophet’s house, and he ate ·and drank [L bread and drank water] with him there.
20 While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke his word to the ·old prophet [L prophet who had brought him back]. 21 ·The old prophet [L He] cried out to the man of God from Judah, “·The Lord said [T Thus says the Lord,] you ·did not obey him! He said you did not do what the Lord your God commanded you […have defied the Lord’s command]. 22 The Lord commanded you not to ·eat or drink [L eat bread or drink water] in this place, but you came back and ·ate and drank [L ate bread and drank water]. So your body will not ·be buried in your family grave [L come to the grave/tomb of your ancestors].”
23 After the man of God finished eating [L bread] and drinking, the prophet put a saddle on his donkey [C possibly the old prophet’s own donkey] for him, and the man left. 24 As he was traveling home, a lion ·attacked [L met] and killed him. His body lay on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing nearby. 25 Some men who were traveling by saw the body on the road and the lion standing nearby. So they went to the city [C Bethel] where the old prophet lived and told what they had seen.
26 The old prophet who had brought back the man of God heard what had happened. “It is the man of God who did not obey the Lord’s command,” he said. “So the Lord sent a lion to kill him, ·just as he said he would [L according to the word of the Lord].”
27 Then the prophet said to his sons, “Put a saddle on my donkey,” and they saddled it. 28 The old prophet went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion still standing nearby. The lion had not eaten the body or ·hurt [attacked; mauled] the donkey. 29 The prophet put the body on his donkey and carried it back to the city to ·have a time of sadness for him [mourn] and to bury him. 30 The prophet ·buried [laid] the body in his own family ·grave [tomb], and they ·were sad for [mourned over] the man of God and said, “·Oh [Alas; Woe], my brother.”
31 After the prophet buried the body, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in ·this same grave [L the grave in which the man of God is buried]. ·Put [Lay] my bones next to his. 32 Through him the Lord ·spoke [cried; proclaimed] against the altar at Bethel and against the ·places of worship [shrines/L houses of the high places; 3:2] in the towns of Samaria. What the Lord spoke through him will certainly come ·true [to pass].”
33 After this ·incident [event] King Jeroboam did not ·stop [turn from] doing evil. He continued to choose priests for the ·places of worship [L high places; 3:2] from among all the people [12:31]. Anyone who wanted to be a priest for the ·places of worship [L high places] ·was allowed [he appointed/ordained] to be one. 34 In this way the ·family [L house] of Jeroboam sinned, and this sin caused its ·ruin [downfall] and destruction from the face of the earth.
1 Kings 13
New American Standard Bible
Jeroboam Warned, Stricken
13 Now behold, (A)a man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar (B)to burn incense. 2 And (C)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, (D)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 [a]sign on the same day, saying, “(E)This is the [b]sign which the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn to pieces and the [c]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 [d]ashes were poured out from the altar, in accordance with the [e]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 [f](F)appease the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” So (G)the man of God [g]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 (H)I will give you a gift.” 8 But the man of God said to the king, “(I)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 [h]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 (J)an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his [i]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, “[j]Which way did he go?” Now his sons [k]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 [l]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, “(K)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 [m]command came to me (L)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, “(M)I too am a prophet like you, and (N)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 (O)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 [n]disobeyed the [o]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, (P)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 (Q)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 [p]disobeyed the [q]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 [r]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, “(R)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; (S)lay my bones beside his bones. 32 (T)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 (U)against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of (V)Samaria.”
33 After this event, Jeroboam did not [s]abandon his evil way, but he (W)again [t]appointed priests of the high places from [u]all the people; (X)anyone who wanted, he ordained, and he became [v]one of the priests of the high places. 34 [w](Y)This event also became a sin of the house of Jeroboam, (Z)even to wipe it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 13:3 Or wonder
- 1 Kings 13:3 Or wonder
- 1 Kings 13:3 Lit ashes of fat
- 1 Kings 13:5 Lit ashes of fat
- 1 Kings 13:5 Or wonder
- 1 Kings 13:6 Lit soften the face of
- 1 Kings 13:6 Lit softened the face of
- 1 Kings 13:9 Lit He commanded me
- 1 Kings 13:11 Lit son
- 1 Kings 13:12 Lit Where is this, the way he went
- 1 Kings 13:12 Some ancient versions showed him
- 1 Kings 13:14 Or a terebinth
- 1 Kings 13:17 Lit word
- 1 Kings 13:21 Lit rebelled against
- 1 Kings 13:21 Lit mouth
- 1 Kings 13:26 Lit rebelled against
- 1 Kings 13:26 Lit mouth
- 1 Kings 13:28 Lit broken
- 1 Kings 13:33 Lit turn away from
- 1 Kings 13:33 Lit made
- 1 Kings 13:33 Lit the extremities of the
- 1 Kings 13:33 Ancient versions a priest of
- 1 Kings 13:34 As in LXX and Targum; MT By this event also it became
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
