1 Kings 13 (NET)

1 Just then1 a prophet2 from Judah, sent by the Lord, arrived in Bethel,3 as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. 2 With the authority of the Lord4 he cried out against the altar, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’”5 3 That day he also announced6 a sign, “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined:7 The altar will be split open and the ashes8 on it will fall to the ground.”9 4 When the king heard what the prophet10 cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand11 and ordered,12 “Seize him!” The hand he had extended shriveled up13 and he could not pull it back. 5 The altar split open and the ashes14 fell from the altar to the ground,15 in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority.16 6 The king pled with17 the prophet,18 “Seek the favor of19 the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor20 and the king’s hand was restored to its former condition.21 7 The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I’d like to give a present.” 8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,22 I could not go with you and eat and drink23 in this place. 9 For the Lord gave me strict orders,24 ‘Do not eat or drink25 there and do not go home the way you came.’” 10 So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.

11 Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel.26 When his sons came home, they told their father27 everything the prophet28 had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king.29 12 Their father asked them, “Which road did he take?” His sons showed him30 the road the prophet31 from Judah had taken. 13 He then told his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and took off after the prophet,32 whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the prophet33 from Judah?” He answered, “Yes, I am.” 15 He then said to him, “Come home with me and eat something.” 16 But he replied, “I can’t go back with you34 or eat and drink35 with you in this place. 17 For the Lord gave me strict orders,36 ‘Do not eat or drink37 there; do not go back the way you came.’” 18 The old prophet then said,38 “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority,39 ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.’”40 But he was lying to him.41 19 So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house.42

20 While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet43 21 and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You44 have rebelled against the Lord45 and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You went back and ate and drank in this place, even though he said to you, “Do not eat or drink there.”46 Therefore47 your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.’”48

23 When the prophet from Judah finished his meal,49 the old prophet saddled his visitor’s donkey for him.50 24 As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him.51 His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it.52 25 Some men came by53 and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it.54 They went and reported what they had seen55 in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news,56 he said, “It is the prophet57 who rebelled against the Lord.58 The Lord delivered him over to the lion and it ripped him up59 and killed him, just as the Lord warned him.”60 27 He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey,” and they did so.61 28 He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it;62 the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. 29 The old prophet63 picked up the corpse of the prophet,64 put it on the donkey, and brought it back. The old prophet then entered the city to mourn him and to bury him. 30 He put the corpse into his own tomb, and they65 mourned over him, saying, “Ah, my brother!” 31 After he buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet66 is buried; put my bones right beside his bones, 32 for the prophecy he announced with the Lord’s authority67 against the altar in Bethel68 and against all the temples on the high places in the cities of the north69 will certainly be fulfilled.”

A Prophet Announces the End of Jeroboam’s Dynasty

33 After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways;70 he continued to appoint common people71 as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest.72 34 This sin caused Jeroboam’s dynasty73 to come to an end and to be destroyed from the face of the earth.

113:1tn Heb “Look.” The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect. 213:1tn Heb “the man of God.” 313:1tn Heb “came by the word of the Lord to Bethel.” 413:2tn Heb “by the word of the Lord.” 513:2sn ‘Look…you.’ For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kgs 23:15-20. 613:3tn Heb “gave.” 713:3tn Heb “spoken.” 813:3tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן. 913:3tn Heb “will be poured out.” 1013:4tn Heb “the man of God.” 1113:4tn Heb “Jeroboam extended his hand from the altar.” 1213:4tn Heb “saying.” 1313:4tn Heb “dried up” or “withered.” TEV and NLT interpret this as “became paralyzed.” 1413:5tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן. 1513:5tn Heb “were poured out from the altar.” 1613:5tn Heb “according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.” 1713:6tn Heb “The king answered and said to.” 1813:6tn Heb “the man of God” (a second time later in this verse, and once in v. 7 and v. 8). 1913:6tn Heb “appease the face of.” 2013:6tn Heb “appeased the face of the Lord.” 2113:6tn Heb “and it was as in the beginning.” 2213:8tn Heb “house.” 2313:8tn Heb “eat food and drink water.” 2413:9tn Heb “for this he commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying.” 2513:9tn Heb “eat food and drink water.” 2613:11map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3. 2713:11tn Heb “and his son came and told him.” The MT has the singular here, but several other textual witnesses have the plural, which is more consistent with the second half of the verse and with vv. 12-13. 2813:11tn Heb “the man of God.” 2913:11tn Heb “all the actions which the man of God performed that day in Bethel, the words which he spoke to the king, and they told them to their father.” 3013:12tn The Hebrew text has “and his sons saw” (וַיִּרְאוּ [vayyir’u], Qal from רָאָה [ra’ah]). In this case the verbal construction (vav consecutive + prefixed verbal form) would have to be understood as pluperfect, “his sons had seen.” Such uses of this construction are rare at best. Consequently many, following the lead of the ancient versions, prefer to emend the verbal form to a Hiphil with pronominal suffix (וַיַּרְאֻהוּ [vayyar’uhu], “and they showed him”). 3113:12tn Heb “the man of God.” 3213:14tn Heb “the man of God.” 3313:14tn Heb “the man of God.” 3413:16tn Heb “I am unable to return with you or to go with you.” 3513:16tn Heb “eat food and drink water.” 3613:17tn Heb “for a word to me by the word of the Lord.” 3713:17tn Heb “eat food and drink water.” 3813:18tn Heb “and he said to him.” 3913:18tn Heb “by the word of the Lord.” 4013:18tn Heb “eat food and drink water.” 4113:18tn Or “deceiving him.”sn He was lying to him. The motives and actions of the old prophet are difficult to understand. The old man’s response to the prophet’s death (see vv. 26-32) suggests he did not trick him with malicious intent. The old prophet probably wanted the honor of entertaining such a celebrity, or perhaps simply desired some social interaction with a fellow prophet. 4213:19tn Heb “and he returned with him and ate food in his house and drank water.” 4313:20tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.” 4413:21tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 21-22 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 21-22a) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 22b). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons. 4513:21tn Heb “the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord.” 4613:22tn Heb “and you returned and ate food and drank water in the place about which he said to you, ‘do not eat food and do not drink water.’” 4713:22tn “Therefore” is added for stylistic reasons. See the note at 1 Kgs 13:21 pertaining to the grammatical structure of vv. 21-22. 4813:22tn Heb “will not go to the tomb of your fathers.” 4913:23tn Heb “and after he had eaten food and after he had drunk.” 5013:23tn Heb “and he saddled for him the donkey, for the prophet whom he had brought back.” 5113:24tn Heb “and he went and a lion met him in the road and killed him.” 5213:24tn Heb “and his corpse fell on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it, and the lion was standing beside the corpse.” 5313:25tn Heb “Look, men were passing by.” 5413:25tn Heb “the corpse.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons. 5513:25tn The words “what they had seen” are supplied in the translation for clarification. 5613:26tn Heb “and the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard.” 5713:26tn Heb “the man of God.” 5813:26tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.” 5913:26tn Heb “broke him,” or “crushed him.” 6013:26tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to him.” 6113:27tn Heb “and they saddled [it].” 6213:28tn Heb “the corpse.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons. 6313:29tn Heb “the prophet.” The word “old” has been supplied in the translation to distinguish this individual from the other prophet. 6413:29tn Heb “the man of God.” 6513:30tn “They” is the reading of the Hebrew text here; perhaps this is meant to include not only the old prophet but his sons (cf. v. 31). 6613:31tn Heb “the man of God.” 6713:32tn Heb “for the word which he cried out by the word of the Lord” 6813:32map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3. 6913:32tn Heb “Samaria.” The name of Israel’s capital city here stands for the northern kingdom as a whole. Actually Samaria was not built and named until several years after this (see 1 Kgs 16:24), so it is likely that the author of Kings, writing at a later time, is here adapting the old prophet’s original statement. 7013:33tn Heb “did not turn from his evil way.” 7113:33sn The expression common people refers to people who were not Levites. See 1 Kgs 12:31. 7213:33tn Heb “and one who had the desire he was filling his hand so that he became [one of] the priests of the high places.” 7313:34tn Heb “house.”