1 Kings, 13

1. There came to Bethel at Yahweh's command a man of God from Judah, just as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer the sacrifice,

1. And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jerobo'am was standing by the altar to burn incense.

2. and at Yahweh's command this man denounced the altar. 'Altar, altar,' he said, 'Yahweh says this, "A son is to be born to the House of David, Josiah by name, and on you he will slaughter the priests of the high places who have offered sacrifice on you, and on you he will burn human bones."

2. 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, Josi'ah by name; and he shall sacrifice upon you the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and men's bones shall be burned upon you.'"

3. At the same time he gave a sign. 'This is the sign', he said, 'that Yahweh has spoken, "This altar will burst apart and the ashes which are on it will be spilt." '

3. And he gave 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 upon it shall be poured out.'"

4. When the king heard how the man of God denounced the altar of Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, 'Seize him!' But the hand he stretched out against the man withered, and he could not draw it back,

4. And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jerobo'am stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Lay hold of him." And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.

5. and the altar burst apart and the ashes from the altar were spilt, in accordance with the sign given by the man of God at Yahweh's command.

5. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

6. The king said to the man of God, 'I beg you to placate Yahweh your God, and so restore me the use of my hand.' The man of God placated Yahweh; the king's hand was restored as it had been before.

6. And the king said to the man of God, "Entreat now the favor 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.

7. The king then said to the man of God, 'Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I shall give you a present,'

7. And the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."

8. but the man of God replied to the king, 'Were you to give me half your palace, I would not go with you. I will eat and drink nothing here,

8. And the man of God said to the king, "If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place;

9. for I have had Yahweh's order, "You are to eat or drink nothing, nor to return by the way you came." '

9. 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. And he left by another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

10. So he went another way, and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

11. Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came to tell him all that the man of God had done in Bethel that day; and the words which he had said to the king, they told these to their father too.

11. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words also which he had spoken to the king, they told to their father.

12. 'Which road did he take?' their father asked. His sons showed him the road which the man of God who came from Judah had taken.

12. And their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone.

13. 'Saddle the donkey for me,' he said to his sons; they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted.

13. And he said to his sons, "Saddle the ass for me." So they saddled the ass for him and he mounted it.

14. He followed the man of God and found him sitting under a terebinth. 'Are you the man of God', he said, 'who came from Judah?' 'I am,' he replied.

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. 'Come home with me,' he said, 'and take some food.'

15. Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread."

16. 'I cannot go back with you,' he answered, 'or eat or drink anything here,

16. And he said, "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 I have received Yahweh's order, "You are to eat or drink nothing there, nor to return by the way you came." '

17. for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, `You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.'"

18. 'I too am a prophet like you,' the other replied, 'and an angel told me this by Yahweh's command, "Bring him back with you to your house to eat and drink." ' He was lying to him.

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. The man of God went back with him; he ate and drank at his house.

19. So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

20. As they were sitting at table a word of Yahweh came to the prophet who had brought him back,

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 addressed the man of God who came from Judah. 'Yahweh says this,' he said. ' "Since you have defied Yahweh's command and not obeyed the orders which Yahweh your God gave you,

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 commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,

22. but have come back and eaten and drunk where he forbade you to eat and drink, your corpse will never reach the tomb of your ancestors." '

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. After he had eaten and drunk, the prophet saddled the donkey for him, and he turned about and went away.

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

24. A lion met him on the road and killed him; his corpse lay stretched out on the road; the donkey stood there beside it; the lion stood by the corpse too.

24. And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the ass stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.

25. People going by saw the corpse lying on the road and the lion standing by the corpse, and went and spoke about it in the town where the old prophet lived.

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 the old prophet dwelt.

26. When the prophet who had made the man turn back heard about it, he said, 'That is the man of God who defied Yahweh's command! Yahweh has handed him over to the lion, which has mauled and killed him, just as Yahweh had foretold it would.'

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 slain him, according to the word which the LORD spoke to him."

27. He said to his sons, 'Saddle the donkey for me,' and they saddled it.

27. And he said to his sons, "Saddle the ass for me." And they saddled it.

28. He set off and found the man's corpse lying on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the corpse; the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor mauled the donkey.

28. And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the ass and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the ass.

29. The prophet lifted the corpse of the man of God and put it on the donkey and brought it back to the town where he lived to hold mourning for him and bury him.

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

30. He laid the corpse in his own tomb, and they raised the mourning cry for him, 'Alas, my brother!'

30. And he laid the body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!"

31. After burying him, the prophet said to his sons, 'When I die, bury me in the same tomb as the man of God, lay my bones beside his.

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; lay my bones beside his bones.

32. For the word he uttered at Yahweh's command against the altar of Bethel and against all the shrines of the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.'

32. For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Sama'ria, shall surely come to pass."

33. Jeroboam did not give up his wicked ways after this incident, but went on appointing priests for the high places from the common people. He consecrated as priests of the high places any who wished to be.

33. After this thing Jerobo'am did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people; any who would, he consecrated to be priests of the high places.

34. Such conduct made the House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the face of the earth.

34. And this thing became sin to the house of Jerobo'am, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.