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13 And behold there came a man of God out of Juda, by the word of the Lord to Bethel, when Jeroboam was standing upon the altar, and burning incense.

And he cried out against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said: O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold a child shall be born to the house of David, Josias by name, and he shall immolate upon thee the priests of the high places, who now burn incense upon thee, and he shall burn men's bones upon thee.

And he gave a sign the same day, saying: This shall be the sign, that the Lord hath spoken: Behold the altar shall be rent, 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 in Bethel, he stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying: Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched forth against him withered: and he was not able to draw it back again to him.

The altar also was rent, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given before in the word of the Lord.

And the king said to the man of God: Entreat the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God besought the face of the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before.

And the king said to the man of God: Come home with me to dine, and I will make thee presents.

And the man of God answered the king: If thou wouldst give me half thy house I will not go with thee, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this place:

For so it was enjoined me by the word of the Lord commanding me: Thou shalt not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by the same way that thou camest.

10 So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way that he came into Bethel.

11 Now a certain old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came to him and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: and they told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

12 And their father said to them: What way went he? His sons shewed him the way by which the man of God went, who came out of Juda.

13 And he said to his sons: Saddle me the ass. And when they had saddled him, he got up,

14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a turpentine tree: and he said to him: Art thou the man of God that camest from Juda? He answered: I am.

15 And he said to him: Come home with me, to eat bread.

16 But he said: I must not return, nor go with thee, neither will I eat bread, nor drink water in this place:

17 Because the Lord spoke to me in the word of the Lord, saying: Thou shalt not eat bread, and thou shalt not drink water there, nor return by the way thou wentest.

18 He said to him: I also am a prophet like unto thee: and an angel spoke to me in the word of the Lord, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread, and drink water. He deceived him,

19 And brought him back with him: so he ate bread and drank water in his house.

20 And as they sat at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet that brought him back:

21 And he cried out to the man of God who came out of Juda, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast not been obedient to the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee,

22 And hast returned and eaten bread, and drunk water in the place wherein he commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat bread, nor drink water, thy dead body shall not be brought into the sepulchre of thy fathers.

23 And when he had eaten and drunk, he saddled his ass for the prophet, whom he had brought back.

24 And when he was gone, a lion found him in the way, and killed him, and his body was cast in the way: and the ass stood by him, and the lion stood by the dead body.

25 And behold, men passing by saw the dead body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city, wherein that old prophet dwelt.

26 And when that prophet, who had brought him back out of the way, heard of it, he said: It is the man of God, that was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord, and the Lord hath delivered him to the lion, and he hath torn him, and killed him according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him.

27 And he said to his sons: Saddle me an ass. And when they had saddled it,

28 And he was gone, he found the dead body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten of the dead body, nor hurt the ass.

29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and going back brought it into the city of the old prophet, to mourn for him.

30 And he laid his dead body in his own sepulchre: and they mourned over him, saying: Alas! alas! my brother.

31 And when they had mourned over him, he said to his sons: When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried: lay my bones beside his bones.

32 For assuredly the word shall come to pass which he hath foretold in the word of the Lord against the altar that is in Bethel: and against all the temples of the high places, that are in the cities of Samaria.

33 After these words Jeroboam came not back from his wicked way: but on the contrary he made of the meanest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he filled his hand, and he was made a priest of the high places.

34 And for this cause did the house of Jeroboam sin, and was cut off and destroyed from the face of the earth.

A Man of God from Judah

13 A man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer incense.(A) And he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: A son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.”(B) He gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: The altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.”(C) When the king heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But the hand that he stretched out against him withered so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. The king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, so 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.(D) Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and dine, and I will give you a gift.”(E) But the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your kingdom, I will not go in with you, nor will I eat food or drink water in this place.(F) For thus I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You shall not eat food, or drink water, or 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.

11 Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel. One of his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words also that he had spoken to the king, they told to their father.(G) 12 Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled a donkey for him, and he mounted it. 14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” He answered, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.” 16 But he said, “I cannot return with you or go in with you, nor will I eat food or drink water with you in this place,(H) 17 for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat food or drink water there or return by the way that you came.’ ”(I) 18 Then the other[a] said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, ‘Bring him back with you into your house so that he may eat food and drink water.’ ” But he was deceiving him. 19 Then the man of God[b] went back with him and ate food and drank water in his house.

20 As they were sitting at the table, 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, “Thus says the Lord: Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the commandment that the Lord your God commanded you(J) 22 but have come back and have eaten food and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, ‘Eat no food, and drink no water,’ your body shall not come to your ancestral tomb.” 23 After the man of God[c] had eaten food and had drunk, they saddled for him a donkey belonging to the prophet who had brought him back. 24 Then as he went away, a lion met him on the road and killed him. His body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.(K) 25 People passed by and saw the body thrown in the road, with the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the town where the old prophet lived.(L)

26 When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.”(M) 27 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled one, 28 and he went and found the body thrown in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey. 29 The prophet took up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to the city[d] to mourn and to bury him. 30 He laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!”(N) 31 After he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.(O) 32 For the saying that he proclaimed by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.”(P)

33 Even after this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way but made priests for the high places again from among all the people; any who wanted to be priests he consecrated for the high places.(Q) 34 This matter became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.(R)

Footnotes

  1. 13.18 Heb he
  2. 13.19 Heb he
  3. 13.23 Heb he
  4. 13.29 Gk: Heb he came to the town of the old prophet

Ongehoorzaamheid gestraft

13 Terwijl Jerobeam in Betel bij het altaar stond om reukwerk voor het gouden kalf te verbranden, kwam een profeet van de Here uit Juda op hem af. Op bevel van de Here riep de profeet luid tegen het altaar: ‘Altaar, de Here zegt dat een kind met de naam Josia als nakomeling van David zal worden geboren en dat hij op u de priesters uit de tempels op de heuvels die hier komen om reukwerk te offeren, zal verbranden. Menselijke botten zullen op u worden verbrand.’ Daarna verrichtte hij het volgende wonder als bewijs dat zijn boodschap van de Here afkomstig was: ‘Dit altaar zal in twee stukken splijten en de as die erop ligt, zal op de grond vallen.’ De koning werd woedend op de profeet omdat hij dit had gezegd. Hij schreeuwde naar zijn wachters: ‘Grijp die man!’ en hij balde woedend zijn vuist naar hem. Op hetzelfde moment verstijfde zijn arm, zodat hij hem niet meer kon terugtrekken. Tegelijkertijd verscheen er een scheur in het altaar en viel alle as eraf, precies zoals de profeet had gezegd. Dit was namelijk het bewijs van de profeet dat God door hem had gesproken. ‘O alstublieft,’ riep de koning de profeet toe, ‘smeek de Here, uw God, toch of Hij mijn arm weer normaal wil maken.’ De profeet bad tot de Here, waarop de arm van de koning zich weer ontspande. De koning zei tegen de profeet: ‘Kom met mij mee naar het paleis om uit te rusten en iets te eten, ik wil u graag belonen.’ Maar de profeet antwoordde: ‘Ook al gaf u mij uw halve paleis, dan nog zou ik er niet naar binnen gaan: ik zou hier zelfs nog geen brood eten of water drinken. Want de Here heeft mij verboden ook maar iets te eten of te drinken, zolang ik hier ben en mij gezegd niet naar Juda terug te keren over dezelfde weg waarlangs ik ben gekomen.’ 10 Dus ging hij langs een andere weg terug.

11 Nu wilde het geval dat in Betel een oude profeet woonde. Zijn zonen kwamen thuis en vertelden in geuren en kleuren wat de profeet uit Juda had gedaan en wat hij tegen de koning had gezegd. 12 ‘Waar is hij heengegaan?’ wilde de oude profeet weten. Zij vertelden het hem. 13 ‘Snel, zadel de ezel,’ zei de oude man en toen zij dat hadden gedaan, 14 reed hij de profeet achterna en vond hem zittend onder een eik. ‘Bent u die profeet uit Juda?’ vroeg hij hem. ‘Ja, dat ben ik inderdaad,’ antwoordde deze. 15 De oude man zei tegen hem: ‘Kom met mij mee naar huis om wat te eten.’ 16,17 Maar de profeet weigerde dat. ‘Dat kan ik niet doen,’ zei hij, ‘want het is mij niet toegestaan ook maar iets te eten of te drinken in Betel. De Here heeft mij daarvoor streng gewaarschuwd, net zoals Hij zei dat ik niet langs dezelfde weg naar huis mocht gaan.’ 18 Maar de oude man zei: ‘Ik ben ook een profeet, net als u. Een engel gaf mij een boodschap van de Here dat ik u mee naar huis moest nemen en u wat te eten en te drinken moest aanbieden.’ Dit was echter een leugen. 19 Zij gingen samen terug en de profeet kreeg wat te eten en te drinken bij de oude man thuis.

20 Plotseling, terwijl zij zo aan tafel zaten, kreeg de oude man een boodschap van de Here 21,22 en hij riep de profeet uit Juda toe: ‘De Here zegt dat uw lichaam niet zal worden begraven in het graf van uw voorouders, omdat u zijn duidelijke verbod hebt overtreden door hier te komen en te eten en te drinken op een plaats waarvoor Hij u had gewaarschuwd.’ 23 Na het eten zadelde de oude man de ezel van de profeet 24,25 en deze hervatte zijn reis. Maar terwijl hij op weg was, sprong plotseling een leeuw op hem af en doodde hem. Zijn lichaam lag op de weg en de leeuw en de ezel stonden er naast. De mensen die daar voorbij kwamen en het lichaam zagen liggen en de leeuw die er rustig naast stond, vertelden het in Betel, waar de oude profeet woonde. 26 Toen deze hoorde wat er was gebeurd, riep hij: ‘Dat is de profeet die de opdracht van de Here niet gehoorzaamde, daarom heeft de Here hem laten doden door een leeuw.’ 27 Hij zei tegen zijn zonen: ‘Zadel mijn ezels.’ En dat deden zij. 28 Hij vond het lichaam van de profeet op de weg en de leeuw en de ezel stonden er nog steeds bij. Bovendien had de leeuw het lichaam niet opgegeten en de ezel niet aangevallen. 29 De profeet legde het lichaam op de ezel en nam het mee terug naar de stad om te rouwen en het te begraven. 30 Hij legde het lichaam in zijn eigen graf en riep droevig: ‘Ach, mijn broeder.’ 31 Naderhand zei hij tegen zijn zonen: ‘Wanneer ik sterf, begraaf mij dan in het graf waarin de profeet ligt. Leg mijn beenderen naast de zijne. 32 Want de Here droeg hem op zijn woord tegen het altaar in Betel uit te roepen. Zijn vervloeking van de tempels in de steden van Samaria zullen zeker bewaarheid worden.’

33 Ondanks de waarschuwing van de profeet bekeerde Jerobeam zich niet van zijn zondige praktijken. Integendeel, hij stelde nog meer mensen uit het volk tot priesters aan om offers te brengen aan de afgoden in de tempels op de heuvels. Ieder die maar wilde, kon priester worden. 34 Dit was een grote zonde en had tot gevolg dat Jerobeams koninkrijk te gronde ging en al zijn familieleden de dood vonden.

A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

13 And behold, (A)a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar (B)to make offerings. (C)And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, (D)Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” And he gave (E)a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. And the king said to the man of God, (F)“Entreat now the favour of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and (G)I will give you a reward.” And the man of God said to the king, (H)“If you give me half your house, (I)I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither 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 came to Bethel.

The Prophet's Disobedience

11 Now (J)an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons[a] came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under 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 And he said, (K)“I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me (L)by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.

20 And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21 And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”, your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” 23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away (M)a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where (N)the old prophet lived.

26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” 27 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city[b] to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, (O)“Alas, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; (P)lay my bones beside his bones. 32 (Q)For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against (R)all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of (S)Samaria shall surely come to pass.”

33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 (T)And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, (U)so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 13:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew son
  2. 1 Kings 13:29 Septuagint; Hebrew he came to the city of the old prophet

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God(A) came from Judah to Bethel,(B) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah(C) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places(D) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” That same day the man of God gave a sign:(E) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

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. 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.

Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede(F) 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.

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

But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,(H) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread(I) or drink water here. 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(J) 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:(K) ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying(L) 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(M) 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(N) 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(O) 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,(P) and they mourned over him and said, “Alas, my brother!”(Q)

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(R) 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(S) in the towns of Samaria(T) will certainly come true.”(U)

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