1 Kings 13

1And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of Jehovah unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.

1Just then, a man of God from Judah arrived at Bethel because the LORD had commanded him. Jeroboam was standing by the altar, ready to burn incense.

2And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall they burn upon thee.

2Following the LORD’s command, the man cried out against the altar: 'O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A son named Josiah will be born to the family of David. On you, he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense here, and human bones will be burned on you.'

3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

3That same day he gave a sign, saying, 'This is the sign the LORD has promised: The altar will split apart, and the ashes on it will spill out.'

4And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to him.

4When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he pointed his hand from the altar and shouted, 'Grab him!' But the hand he pointed at the man withered up, and he couldn't pull it back.

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

5The altar also split apart, and the ashes spilled out, just as the man of God had predicted by the word of the LORD.

6And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the favor of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God entreated Jehovah, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

6Then the king said to the man of God, 'Please ask for the favor of the LORD your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be healed.' So the man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to the way it was before.

7And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

7The king said to the man of God, 'Come home with me and eat something, and I will give you a gift.'

8And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;

8But the man of God answered the king, 'Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place.'

9for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest.

9'For the LORD commanded me: "You must not eat bread or drink water, and you must not return by the same road you took."'

10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.

10So he left by a different road and did not go back the same way he had come to Bethel.

11Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them also they told unto their father.

11Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. His sons came and told him everything the man of God had done that day in Bethel and what he had said to the king.

12And their father said unto them, What way went he? Now his sons had seen what way the man of God went, that came from Judah.

12Their father asked them, 'Which way did he go?' His sons showed him the road taken by the man of God who came from Judah.

13And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon.

13He told his sons, 'Saddle the donkey for me.' When they had saddled it, he mounted it.

14And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak; and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

14He rode after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He asked, 'Are you the man of God who came from Judah?' The man replied, 'I am.'

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

15Then the old prophet said to him, 'Come home with me and eat some food.'

16And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

16The man of God replied, 'I cannot go back with you or go into your house. I cannot eat bread or drink water with you in this place.'

17for it was said to me by the word of Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

17'For the LORD strictly told me, "You must not eat bread or drink water there, and you must not return by the way you came."'

18And he said unto him, I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

18But the old prophet said, 'I am a prophet just like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD and said, "Bring him back to your house so he can eat and drink."' However, he was lying to him.

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

19So the man of God went back with him and ate and drank in his house.

20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of Jehovah came unto the prophet that brought him back;

20While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back.

21and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient unto the mouth of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment which Jehovah thy God commanded thee,

21He cried out to the man of God from Judah, 'This is what the LORD says: "You have disobeyed the LORD’s word and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you."'

22but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy body shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

22'You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to. Therefore, your body will not be buried in your family tomb.'

23And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.

23After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him.

24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his body was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the body.

24As he was on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him. His body was left lying in the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.

25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

25Some people passing by saw the body lying there and the lion standing next to it, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the mouth of Jehovah: therefore Jehovah hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake unto him.

26When the prophet who had brought him back heard the news, he said, 'It is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD’s command. The LORD has handed him over to the lion, which has attacked and killed him, just as the LORD warned him.'

27And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled it.

27The prophet said to his sons, 'Saddle the donkey for me.' And they did.

28And he went and found his body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the body: the lion had not eaten the body, nor torn the ass.

28He went and found the body lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion still standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey.

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

29The prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him.

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

30He laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him, crying, 'Oh, my brother!'

31And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.

31After the burial, the prophet said to his sons, 'When I die, bury me in the same tomb where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.'

32For the saying which he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

32'For the message he delivered by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.'

33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.

33Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways. He continued to appoint all kinds of people as priests for the high places. Anyone who wanted to could become a priest for those shrines.

34And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

34This became the sin of the family of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and its total destruction from the face of the earth.