1 Kings 12:33-13:10
International Standard Version
33 Then, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, he went up to burn incense on the altar that he had set up in Bethel, thus beginning the festival that he had made up out of his own heart for the Israelis.
Josiah’s Desecration Predicted by a Man of God
13 Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the Lord. 2 He cursed[a] the altar in this[b] message from the Lord: “Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David’s dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!’”[c]
3 Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power[d] of what was to come when he said, “Here’s proof[e] that the Lord has decreed this:[f] Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out.”
4 When he heard the man of God curse[g] the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. “Seize him!” he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! 5 Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the Lord!
6 “Please!” the king begged the man of God, “Ask the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!” So the man of God asked the Lord, and the king’s hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. 7 So the king told the man of God, “Come back to my palace and rest a while. I’d like to give you a reward.”
8 But the man of God replied to the king, “Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn’t go with you, and I’m sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, 9 because the Lord commanded me specifically, ‘You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!’” 10 Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 13:2 Or rebuked
- 1 Kings 13:2 Lit. a
- 1 Kings 13:2 Cf. 2King 23:15-16
- 1 Kings 13:3 Or a sign
- 1 Kings 13:3 Or Here’s a sign
- 1 Kings 13:3 Lit. spoken
- 1 Kings 13:4 Or rebuke
1 Kings 12:33-13:10
Lexham English Bible
33 He offered sacrifices on the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month which his heart had devised. He inaugurated a religious feast for the Israelites,[a] and he went up to the altar to offer incense.
A Man of God Proclaims Judgment against the False Altar
13 Suddenly a man of God from Judah came to Bethel, by the word of Yahweh, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar to offer incense. 2 Then he proclaimed against the altar by the word of Yahweh and said, “O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: ‘Look, a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.’”
3 He gave a sign on that day, saying, “This is the sign that Yahweh has predetermined: Look, this altar will be torn apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”
4 It happened at the moment the king heard the word of the man of God that he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand which he stretched out to him was paralyzed, and he was not able to draw it back to himself. 5 Then the altar was torn apart and the ashes from the altar poured out according to the sign which the man of God had announced by the word of Yahweh. 6 Then the king responded and said to the man of God, “Please entreat the favor of Yahweh your God, and pray for me that my hand may return to me.” So the man of God entreated the face of Yahweh, and the hand of the king returned to him, as it was in the beginning. 7 Then the king spoke to the man of God, “Come with me to the house and refresh yourself, that I may give you a gift.” 8 Then the man of God said to the king, “Even if you give to me half of your house I will not come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for the word of Yahweh has commanded me, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, and you shall not return on the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way, and he did not return by the way on which he had come to Bethel.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 12:33 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
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