M'lakhim Alef (1 Ki) 13
13
1Just then, as Yarov‘am was standing by the altar to burn incense, a man of God came out of Y’hudah, directed to Beit-El by a word from Adonai. 2And by the word from Adonai he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar, here is what Adonai says: ‘A son will be born to the house of David; his name will be Yoshiyahu; and on you he will sacrifice the cohanim of the high places who burn incense on you! They will burn human bones on you!’” 3That same day he also gave a sign: “Here is the sign which Adonai has decreed:
“‘The altar will be split apart;
the ashes on it will be scattered about.’”
4When the king heard what the man of God said, how he denounced the altar in Beit-El, Yarov‘am took his hand away from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But his hand, the one he had stretched out against him, shriveled up; so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5Also the altar was split apart, and the ashes scattered from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of Adonai. 6The king then responded to the man of God. “Ask now the favor of Adonai your God,” he said, “and pray for me, that my hand will be restored to me.” The man of God prayed to Adonai, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it had been before. 7The king then said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward. 8But the man of God replied to the king, “Even if you give me half your household, I will not accept your hospitality; nor will I eat food or drink water in this place. 9For this is the order I received through the word of Adonai: ‘Don’t eat food or drink water, and don’t return by the road you took when you came.’” 10So he went another way and did not return by the road by which he had come to Beit-El.
11Now there lived an old prophet in Beit-El; and one of his sons came and told him all the things the man of God had done that day in Beit-El; also they told their father what he had said to the king. 12Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons had seen what road the man of God from Y’hudah had taken. 13He then said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and, riding on it, 14he went after the man of God. He found him sitting under a pistachio tree and said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Y’hudah?” He answered, “I am.” 15Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.” 16He replied, “I cannot return with you or partake of your hospitality, nor will I eat food or drink water with you in this place; 17because it was said to me by the word of Adonai, ‘You are not to eat food or drink water there, and you are not to go back by the way you came.’” 18The other said to him, “I too am a prophet, just like you; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Adonai and said, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he can eat food and drink water.’” But he was lying to him. 19So he went back with him and did eat food and drink water in his house. 20As they were sitting at the table, the word of Adonai came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21and he cried to the man of God who had come from Y’hudah, “Here is what Adonai says: ‘Since you rebelled against the word of Adonai and didn’t obey the mitzvah Adonai your God gave you, 22but came back and ate food and drank water in the place where he warned you not to eat food or drink water, your corpse will not arrive at the tomb of your ancestors.” 23After he had eaten food and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back. 24But after he had gone, a lion encountered the man of God on the road and killed him. His corpse lay there in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing next to it. 25In time, people passed by and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing next to it; and they came and told about it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26When the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God who rebelled against the word of Adonai; this is why Adonai handed him over to the lion to tear him to pieces and kill him, in keeping with the word Adonai spoke to him.” 27To his sons he said, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they saddled it. 28He went and found his corpse lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing next to the corpse; the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. 29The prophet picked up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city where he lived, to mourn and bury him. 30He laid the corpse in his own burial cave, and they mourned him — “Oh! My brother!” 31After burying him he said to his sons, “When I die, put me in the burial cave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones next to his bones. 32For the thing he cried by the word of Adonai against the altar in Beit-El and against all the temples on the high places near the cities of Shomron will surely happen.”
33After this, Yarov‘am did not turn back from his evil way but continued appointing cohanim for the high places from among all the people; he consecrated anyone who wanted to be a cohen of the high places. 34This brought sin to the house of Yarov‘am that would eventually cut it off and destroy it from the face of the earth.
Currently Selected:
M'lakhim Alef (1 Ki) 13: CJB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
For more information and to purchase a hard copy of the Complete Jewish Bible,
Learn More About Complete Jewish Bible1 Kings 13
13
A Prophet Denounces Jeroboam
1At the Lord’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. 2Then at the Lord’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.” 3That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The Lord has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.”
4When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. 5At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the Lord.
6The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the Lord your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again.
7Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.”
8But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. 9For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” 10So he left Bethel and went home another way.
11As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons#13:11 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads son. came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. 12The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they showed their father#13:12 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads They had seen. which road the man of God had taken. 13“Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it.
14Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
“Yes, I am,” he replied.
15Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.”
16“No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. 17For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”
18But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. 19So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home.
20Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the Lord came to the old prophet. 21He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: You have defied the word of the Lord and have disobeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. 22You came back to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.”
23After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, 24and the man of God 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. 25People who passed by saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived.
26When the prophet heard the report, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the Lord’s command. The Lord has fulfilled his word by causing the lion to attack and kill him.”
27Then the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled a donkey, 28and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. 29So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the town to mourn over him and bury him. 30He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, “Oh, my brother!”
31Afterward the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. 32For the message the Lord told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.”
33But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the common people. He appointed anyone who wanted to become a priest for the pagan shrines. 34This became a great sin and resulted in the utter destruction of Jeroboam’s dynasty from the face of the earth.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: