1 Kings, Chapter 13:

Verses from 1 Kings, Chapter 13 of the book of 1 Samuel of the Bible.

God's prophet of Judah

• 1. At the Lord's command, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar to burn incense.
• 2. He cried out against the altar at the Lord's command: "O altar, O altar! This is what the Lord says: 'A son will be born to the house of David, whose name is Josiah, and on you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now burn incense here, and human bones will be burned on you.'"
• 3. That same day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has declared: The altar will be split open, and the ashes on it will be poured out.”
• 4. When King Jeroboam heard the words that the man of God was proclaiming against the altar in Bethel, he stretched out his hand from where he was and said, “Seize him!” But the hand that he stretched out against the man of God became paralyzed, and he could not move it any more.
• 5. And the altar was split open, and the ashes were poured out, according to the sign given by the man of God at the command of the Lord.
• 6 Then the king said to the man of God, “Plead with the Lord your God and pray for me so that my arm may be restored.” The man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s arm was restored and restored to normal.
• 7. The king said to the man of God, “Come to my house and eat something, and I will reward you.”
• 8. But the man of God replied to the king, “Even if you would give me half of your possessions, I would not go with you to eat or drink in this place.
• 9. For I have received a command from the Lord: 'Do not eat bread or drink water, and do not return by the same route by which you came.'"
• 10. So he went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
• 11. Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons told him everything the man of God had done that day, and also the words he had spoken to the king.
• 12. Their father asked, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way the man of God had gone from Judah.
• 13. Then he said to his sons, “Prepare the donkey for me.” So they prepared the donkey, and he sat on it.
• 14. and went to the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. And he asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “Yes,” he replied.
• 15. Then the prophet said to him, “Come with me to my house and have something to eat.”
• 16 But the man of God replied, “I cannot go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water in this place.
• 17. For I have received a command from the Lord: 'You shall not eat bread or drink water there, and you shall not return by the same route by which you came.'"
• 18. The old prophet replied, “I too am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the Lord’s command: ‘Bring him back to his house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he was lying.
• 19. So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.
• 20. While they were at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back,
• 21. And he cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have disobeyed the Lord’s command and have not fulfilled the mission the Lord your God gave you.
• 22. You went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.'
• 23. After eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the man of God.
• 24. On the way a lion met him and killed him, and his body was left lying on the ground next to the lion and the donkey.
• 25. Some people who passed by saw the body lying on the ground, with the lion beside it, and they went to tell the story in the city where the old prophet lived.
• 26 When the prophet heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who defied the word of the Lord! So the Lord handed him over to the lion, which mauled him and killed him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which he had spoken to him.”
• 27. Then the prophet said to his sons, “Prepare the donkey for me.” And they did so.
• 28. He went and found the body lying on the ground, with the lion and the donkey nearby. The lion had not eaten the body or injured the donkey.
• 29. The prophet lifted the body of the man of God, placed it on the donkey, and took it back to Bethel to mourn for him and bury him.
• 30. Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned for him, saying, “Ah, my brother!”
• 31. After burying him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; place my bones beside his bones.
• 32. For the word of the Lord that he proclaimed against the altar in Bethel and against all the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come true.”
• 33. Nevertheless, Jeroboam did not turn from his wicked ways; instead, he continued to appoint anyone he wanted to be a priest at the high places. He would consecrate anyone, even a non-Levite, to be a priest at the high places.
• 34. This act of Jeroboam's house was the cause of their ruin and their destruction from the face of the earth, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken through his servant the prophet.

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