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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had selected on his own; he appointed a festival for the people of Israel, and he went up to the altar to offer incense.(A)
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.(B) 2 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.”(C) 3 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.”(D) 4 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. 5 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. 6 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.(E) 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and dine, and I will give you a gift.”(F) 8 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.(G) 9 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.
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