1 Kings 13
Common English Bible
Jeroboam I and the man of God
13 A man of God came from Judah by God’s command to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing at the altar burning incense. 2 By the Lord’s word, the man of God cried out to the altar: “Altar! Altar! The Lord says this: Look! A son will be born to the house of David. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice on you, Altar, the very priests of the shrines who offer incense on you. They will burn human bones on you.” 3 At that time the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign that the Lord mentioned: ‘Look! The altar will be broken apart, and its ashes will spill out.’”
4 When the king heard the word of the man of God and how he cried out to the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand that Jeroboam stretched out against the man of God grew stiff. Jeroboam wasn’t able to bend it back to himself. 5 The altar broke apart, and the ashes spilled out from the altar, just like the sign that the man of God gave by the Lord’s word. 6 The king said to the man of God, “Plead before the Lord your God and pray for me so that I can bend my hand back again.” So the man of God pleaded before the Lord, and the king’s hand returned to normal and was like it used to be. 7 The king spoke to the man of God: “Come with me to the palace and refresh yourself. Let me give you a gift.”
8 The man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half your palace, I wouldn’t go with you, nor would I eat food or drink water in this place. 9 This is what God commanded me by the Lord’s word: Don’t eat food! Don’t drink water! Don’t return by the way you came!”
10 So the man of God went by a different way. He didn’t return by the way he came to Bethel. 11 Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. His sons came and told him everything that the man of God had done that day at Bethel. They also told their father the words that he spoke to the king. 12 “Which way did he go?” their father asked them. His sons had seen the way the man of God went when he came from Judah. 13 The old prophet said to his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” So they saddled his donkey, and he got on it. 14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting underneath a terebinth tree. He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
“I am,” he replied.
15 The old prophet then said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.”
16 But the man of God answered, “I can’t return or go with you, and I can’t eat food or drink water with you in this place 17 because of the message that came to me from the Lord’s word: Don’t eat food! Don’t drink water! Don’t return by the way you came!”
18 The old prophet said to the man of God, “I’m also a prophet like you. A messenger spoke to me with the Lord’s word, ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat food and drink water.’”
But the old prophet was lying to him. 19 So the man of God went back with the old prophet. He ate food in his home and drank water. 20 Then as they were sitting at the table, the Lord’s word came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah:
“The Lord says this:
You rebelled against the Lord’s word!
You didn’t keep the command that the Lord your God gave you!
22 You came back and ate food and drank water in this place.
“But he had commanded you: ‘Don’t eat food! Don’t drink water!’ Now your body won’t go to the grave of your ancestors.”
23 After he ate food and drank, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back. 24 The man of God departed, and a lion found him on the road and killed him. His body was thrown down on the road. The donkey stood beside it, and the lion also stood beside the body. 25 Some people were traveling nearby, and they discovered the body thrown down on the road and the lion standing beside it. They entered the town where the old prophet lived and were talking about it. 26 The prophet who brought the man of God back from the road overheard. He thought: That’s the man of God who rebelled against the Lord’s command. The Lord has given him to that lion that tore him apart, killing him in agreement with the Lord’s word that was spoken to him.
27 The old prophet told his sons, “Saddle the donkey.” They did so, 28 and he went and found the body thrown down on the road. The donkey and the lion were still standing beside the body. The lion hadn’t eaten the body, nor had it torn the donkey apart. 29 The prophet lifted the body of the man of God and put it on the donkey. He brought it back, arriving in the old prophet’s town to mourn and bury the man of God. 30 He placed the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, “Oh, my brother!” 31 After the old prophet buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is. Put my bones beside his bones. 32 The message he gave by the Lord’s word concerning the altar of Bethel and all the shrines in the towns of Samaria will most certainly come true.”
33 Even after this happened, Jeroboam didn’t change his evil ways. Instead, he continued to appoint all sorts of people as priests of the shrines. Anyone who wanted to be a priest Jeroboam made a priest for the shrines. 34 In this way the house of Jeroboam acted sinfully, leading to its downfall and elimination from the earth.
1 Reyes 13
La Palabra (Hispanoamérica)
Condena del altar de Betel
13 Mientras Jeroboán estaba junto al altar quemando incienso, llegó a Betel desde Judá un hombre de Dios enviado por el Señor, 2 que se puso a gritar contra el altar, por orden del Señor:
— ¡Altar, altar! Esto dice el Señor: “Nacerá un descendiente de David, llamado Josías, que sacrificará sobre ti a los sacerdotes de los santuarios que ofrecen incienso sobre ti y quemará sobre ti huesos humanos”.
3 E inmediatamente el profeta ofreció una señal, diciendo:
— He aquí la prueba de lo que el Señor ha dicho: el altar va a romperse en pedazos y se esparcirán las cenizas que hay en él.
4 Cuando el rey escuchó las palabras que el profeta gritaba contra el altar de Betel, extendió su mano desde el altar y ordenó:
— Apresadlo.
Pero la mano que había levantado contra él se le quedó rígida y no podía bajarla. 5 El altar se rompió en pedazos y se esparcieron sus cenizas, de acuerdo con la señal que el hombre de Dios había anunciado por orden del Señor. 6 Entonces el rey suplicó al hombre de Dios:
— Por favor, aplaca al Señor, tu Dios, e intercede por mí para que pueda mover mi mano.
El hombre de Dios aplacó al Señor y el rey volvió a mover su mano, que se le quedó como antes. 7 Luego el rey le dijo:
— Acompáñame a palacio a comer algo, que quiero hacerte un regalo.
8 Pero el hombre de Dios respondió al rey:
— No iré contigo, ni aunque me dieses la mitad de tu palacio. No puedo comer ni beber nada en este lugar, 9 pues el Señor me ha ordenado que no coma ni beba nada, ni regrese por el mismo camino que he venido.
10 Así que se fue por otro camino y no regresó por el camino que había traído hasta Betel.
11 Vivía entonces en Betel un profeta anciano. Sus hijos llegaron a contarle lo que aquel hombre de Dios había hecho ese día en Betel y lo que le había dicho al rey. 12 El padre les preguntó:
— ¿Qué camino ha tomado?
Sus hijos le indicaron el camino que había tomado el hombre de Dios venido de Judá, 13 y él les ordenó:
— Aparéjenme el burro.
Ellos se lo aparejaron. Entonces él se subió al burro, 14 marchó tras el hombre de Dios y lo encontró sentado debajo de una encina. Entonces le preguntó:
— ¿Eres tú el hombre de Dios que ha venido de Judá?
El otro respondió:
— Yo soy.
15 El primero le dijo:
— Acompáñame a casa a comer algo.
16 El otro le contestó:
— No puedo volver contigo ni acompañarte. No comeré ni beberé nada contigo en este lugar, 17 pues el Señor me ha ordenado que no coma ni beba nada aquí y que no regrese por el mismo camino por el que he venido.
18 Pero el anciano insistió:
— Yo también soy profeta, como tú, y un ángel me ha ordenado, de parte del Señor, que te lleve conmigo a mi casa para que comas y bebas algo.
Así lo engañó 19 y el otro fue con él a comer y beber en su casa. 20 Mientras estaban sentados a la mesa, el Señor habló al profeta que lo había hecho volver 21 y este gritó al hombre de Dios venido de Judá:
— Esto dice el Señor: Por haber desobedecido las órdenes del Señor y no haber cumplido el mandato que te dio, 22 regresando a comer y beber a este lugar donde él te lo había prohibido, tu cadáver no será enterrado en la sepultura de tus padres.
23 Cuando terminó de comer y beber, aparejó el burro del profeta al que había hecho volver. 24 Este se marchó, pero en el camino un león le salió al encuentro y lo mató. Su cadáver quedó tendido en el camino, mientras el burro y el león se quedaban de pie junto a él. 25 Pasaron unos hombres que vieron el cadáver tendido en el camino y al león de pie junto a él y fueron a dar la noticia a la ciudad donde vivía el profeta anciano. 26 Cuando este se enteró, comentó:
— Ese es el profeta que desobedeció el mandato del Señor; por eso el Señor lo ha entregado al león, que lo ha despedazado y matado, tal y como le anunció el Señor.
27 Entonces ordenó a sus hijos:
— Aparéjenme el burro.
Cuando se lo aparejaron, 28 él partió y encontró el cadáver tendido en el camino y al burro y al león de pie junto al cadáver. El león no había devorado el cadáver ni despedazado al burro. 29 El profeta recogió el cadáver del hombre de Dios, lo cargó en el burro y regresó con él a su ciudad para hacerle duelo y enterrarlo. 30 Lo enterró en su propia sepultura y le cantaron la elegía “¡Ay, hermano mío!”. 31 Después de enterrarlo, dijo a sus hijos:
— Cuando yo muera, entiérrenme en la sepultura donde está enterrado el hombre de Dios y pongan mis huesos junto a los suyos; 32 porque inexorablemente se cumplirá la amenaza que lanzó, por orden del Señor, contra el altar de Betel y contra todos los santuarios de los montes que hay en las ciudades de Samaría.
33 Después de todo esto, Jeroboán no abandonó su mala conducta; al contrario, volvió a nombrar sacerdotes de los santuarios a gente del pueblo. A todo el que lo deseaba, lo consagraba sacerdote de los santuarios. 34 Este fue el pecado de la dinastía de Jeroboán, por lo que fue exterminada y borrada del mapa.
1 Kings 13
Living Bible
13 As Jeroboam approached the altar to burn incense to the golden calf idol, a prophet of the Lord from Judah walked up to him. 2 Then, at the Lord’s command, the prophet shouted, “O altar, the Lord says that a child named Josiah shall be born into the family line of David, and he shall sacrifice upon you the priests from the shrines on the hills who come here to burn incense; and men’s bones shall be burned upon you.”
3 Then he gave this proof that his message was from the Lord: “This altar will split apart, and the ashes on it will spill to the ground.”
4 The king was very angry with the prophet for saying this. He shouted to his guards, “Arrest that man!” and shook his fist at him. Instantly the king’s arm became paralyzed in that position; he couldn’t pull it back again! 5 At the same moment a wide crack appeared in the altar and the ashes poured out, just as the prophet had said would happen. For this was the prophet’s proof that God had been speaking through him.
6 “Oh, please, please,” the king cried out to the prophet, “beg the Lord your God to restore my arm again.”
So he prayed to the Lord, and the king’s arm became normal again.
7 Then the king said to the prophet, “Come to the palace with me and rest awhile and have some food; and I’ll give you a reward because you healed my arm.”
8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you gave me half your palace, I wouldn’t go into it; nor would I eat or drink even water in this place! 9 For the Lord has given me strict orders not to eat anything or drink any water while I’m here, and not to return to Judah by the road I came on.”
10 So he went back another way.
11 As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons went home and told him what the prophet from Judah had done and what he had said to the king.
12 “Which way did he go?” the old prophet asked. So they told him.
13 “Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. And when they had saddled the donkey for him, 14 he rode after the prophet and found him sitting under an oak tree.
“Are you the prophet who came from Judah?” he asked him.
“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”
15 Then the old man said to the prophet, “Come home with me and eat.”
16-17 “No,” he replied, “I can’t; for I am not allowed to eat anything or to drink any water at Bethel. The Lord strictly warned me against it; and he also told me not to return home by the same road I came on.”
18 But the old man said, “I am a prophet too, just as you are; and an angel gave me a message from the Lord. I am to take you home with me and give you food and water.”
But the old man was lying to him. 19 So they went back together, and the prophet ate some food and drank some water at the old man’s home.
20 Then, suddenly, while they were sitting at the table, a message from the Lord came to the old man, 21-22 and he shouted at the prophet from Judah, “The Lord says that because you have been disobedient to his clear command and have come here, and have eaten and drunk water in the place he told you not to, therefore your body shall not be buried in the grave of your fathers.”
23 After finishing the meal, the old man saddled the prophet’s donkey, 24-25 and the prophet 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. Those who came by and saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing quietly beside it, reported it in Bethel where the old prophet lived.
26 When he heard what had happened he exclaimed, “It is the prophet who disobeyed the Lord’s command; the Lord fulfilled his warning by causing the lion to kill him.”
27 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle my donkey!” And they did.
28 He found the prophet’s body lying in the road; and 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 upon the donkey and took it back to the city to mourn over it and bury it.
30 He laid the body in his own grave, exclaiming, “Alas, my brother!”
31 Afterwards he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the prophet is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the Lord told him to shout against the altar in Bethel, and his curse against the shrines in the cities of Samaria shall surely be fulfilled.”
33 Despite the prophet’s warning, Jeroboam did not turn away from his evil ways; instead, he made more priests than ever from the common people, to offer sacrifices to idols in the shrines on the hills. Anyone who wanted to could be a priest. 34 This was a great sin and resulted in the destruction of Jeroboam’s kingdom and the death of all of his family.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
La Palabra, (versión hispanoamericana) © 2010 Texto y Edición, Sociedad Bíblica de España
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.