1 Kings 12:33-13:10
New English Translation
A Prophet from Judah Visits Bethel
33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen)[a] Jeroboam[b] offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices. 13 1 Just then[c] a prophet[d] arrived from Judah with[e] the Lord’s message for Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. 2 He cried out against the altar with the Lord’s message, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord has said, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’”[f] 3 That day he had also given a sign, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has declared: The altar will split open and the ashes[g] on it will pour out.” 4 When the king heard the prophet’s message that he had cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam took his hand from the altar and pointed it[h] saying, “Seize him!” Then the hand that he had pointed at him stiffened up,[i] and he could not pull it back. 5 Meanwhile the altar split open, and the ashes[j] poured from the altar in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had given with the Lord’s message. 6 The king responded to[k] the prophet, “Seek the favor of[l] the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor and the king’s hand was restored as it was at first. 7 The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat, so that I may give you a gift.”[m] 8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,[n] I would not go with you. I am not allowed to eat food or drink water in this place. 9 For this is how I was commanded in the Lord’s message, ‘Eat no food. Drink no water. And do not return by the way you came.’” 10 So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 12:33 tn Heb “which he had chosen by himself.”
- 1 Kings 12:33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Kings 13:1 tn Heb The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect.
- 1 Kings 13:1 tn Heb “the man of God.” Also in vv. 4-8.
- 1 Kings 13:1 tn Or “in keeping with” (also at vv. 2, 5, 9, 17, 18, 32).
- 1 Kings 13:2 sn “Look…you.” For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kgs 23:15-20.
- 1 Kings 13:3 tn Heb “the fat,” i.e., fat mixed with ashes from the altar (HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן).
- 1 Kings 13:4 tn Heb “extended his hand from the altar.”
- 1 Kings 13:4 tn Heb The verb יָבֵשׁ (yavesh) usually describes water sources as dry or plants as dry and withered. Applied to a hand or an arm (Zech 11:17), it probably means to be(come) stiff, feeble, or both. TEV and NLT interpret this as “became paralyzed.”
- 1 Kings 13:5 tn The fat mixed with ashes. See note v. 3.
- 1 Kings 13:6 tn Heb “answered and said to.”
- 1 Kings 13:6 tn Heb “appease” or “soften the face of,” twice in this verse.
- 1 Kings 13:7 tn Or “reward.”
- 1 Kings 13:8 tn Heb “house,” representing one’s estate or possessions.
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
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