Chapter 13
1 Behold , a man of God came out of Judah by the LORD ’s word to Bethel ; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense .
2 He cried against the altar by the LORD ’s word , and said , " Altar ! Altar ! The LORD says : ‘ Behold , a son will be born to David ’s house , Josiah by name . On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you , and they will burn men ’s bones on you .’"
3 He gave a sign the same day , saying , " This is the sign which the LORD has spoken : Behold , the altar will be split apart , and the ashes that are on it will be poured out ."
4 When the king heard the saying of the man of God , which he cried against the altar in Bethel , Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar , saying , " Seize him !" His hand , which he put out against him , dried up , so that he could not draw it back again to himself .
5 The altar was also split apart , and the ashes poured out from the altar , according to the sign which the man of God had given by the LORD ’s word .
6 The king answered the man of God , " Now intercede for the favour of the LORD your God , and pray for me , that my hand may be restored to me ." The man of God interceded with the LORD , and the king ’s hand was restored to him , and became as it was before .
7 The king said to the man of God , "Come home with me and refresh yourself , and I will give you a reward ."
8 The man of God said to the king , " Even if you gave me half of your house , I would not go in with you , neither would I eat bread nor drink water in this place ;
9 for so was it commanded me by the LORD ’s word , saying , ‘ You shall eat no bread , drink no water , and don’t return by the way that you came .’"
10 So he went another way , and didn’t return by the way that he came to Bethel .
11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel , and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel . They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king .
12 Their father said to them , " Which way did he go ?" Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went , who came from Judah .
13 He said to his sons , " Saddle the donkey for me ." So they saddled the donkey for him ; and he rode on it .
14 He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. He said to him , " Are you the man of God who came from Judah ?" He said, " I am."
15 Then he said to him, " Come home with me and eat bread ."
16 He said, " I may not return with you , nor go in with you . I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place .
17 For it was said to me by the LORD ’s word , ‘ You shall eat no bread or drink water there , and don’t turn again to go by the way that you came .’"
18 He said to him , " I also am a prophet as you are ; and an angel spoke to me by the LORD ’s word , saying , ‘ Bring him back with you into your house , that he may eat bread and drink water .’" He lied to him .
19 So he went back with him , ate bread in his house , and drank water .
20 As they sat at the table , the LORD ’s word came to the prophet who brought him back ;
21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah , saying , " The LORD says , ‘ Because you have been disobedient to the LORD ’s word , and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you ,
22 but came back , and have eaten bread and drank water in the place of which he said to you , " Eat no bread , and drink no water ," your body will not come to the tomb of your fathers.’"
23 After he had eaten bread and after he drank , he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back .
24 When he had gone , a lion met him by the way and killed him . His body was thrown on the path , and the donkey stood by it . The lion also stood by the body .
25 Behold , men passed by and saw the body thrown on the path , and the lion standing by the body ; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived .
26 When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it , he said , " It is the man of God who was disobedient to the LORD ’s word . Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has mauled him and slain him , according to the LORD ’s word which he spoke to him ."
27 He said to his sons , saying , " Saddle the donkey for me ," and they saddled it .
28 He went and found his body thrown on the path , and the donkey and the lion standing by the body . The lion had not eaten the body nor mauled the donkey .
29 The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey , and brought it back . He came to the city of the old prophet to mourn , and to bury him .
30 He laid his body in his own grave ; and they mourned over him , saying, " Alas , my brother!"
31 After he had buried him , he spoke to his sons , saying, " When I am dead , bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried . Lay my bones beside his bones .
32 For the saying which he cried by the LORD ’s word against the altar in Bethel , and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria , will surely happen ."
33 After this thing , Jeroboam didn’t turn from his evil way , but again made priests of the high places from amongst all the people . Whoever wanted to , he consecrated him , that there might be priests of the high places .
34 This thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam , even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the surface of the earth.