Add parallel Print Page Options

13 And, hinei, by the Devar Hashem there came an Ish HaElohim out of Yehudah unto Beit-El; and Yarov‘am stood by the mizbe’ach to burn ketoret.

And he cried against the mizbe’ach by the Devar Hashem, and said, O mizbe’ach, mizbe’ach, thus saith Hashem; Hinei, ben nolad (a son shall be born) unto the Bais Dovid, Yoshiyah shmo; and upon thee shall he offer the kohanim of the [idolatrous] high places that burn ketoret upon thee, and atzmot adam shall be burned upon thee [2Kgs 23:15-16].

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the mofet (sign) that Hashem hath spoken: Hinei, the mizbe’ach shall be split apart, and the deshen (fat ashes) that are upon it shall be poured out.

And it came to pass, when HaMelech Yarov`am heard the davar of the Ish HaElohim, which had cried against the mizbe’ach in Beit-El, that he put forth his yad from the mizbe’ach, saying, Lay hold on him. And his yad, which he put forth against him, shriveled up, so that he could not draw it back to him.

The mizbe’ach also was split apart, and the deshen poured out from the mizbe’ach, according to the mofet which the Ish HaElohim had given by the Devar Hashem.

And HaMelech answered and said unto the Ish HaElohim, Intercede now before the face of Hashem Eloheicha, and daven for me, that my yad may be restored to me. And the Ish HaElohim made intercessory prayer before Hashem, and the yad HaMelech was restored to him, and became as it was before.

And HaMelech said unto the Ish HaElohim, Come with me habaytah (home), and have seudah, and I will give thee a mattat (gift).

And the Ish HaElohim said unto HaMelech, If thou wilt give me half thine bais, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat lechem nor drink mayim in this makom;

For so was it charged me by the Devar Hashem, saying, Eat no lechem, nor drink mayim, nor return again by the same derech that thou camest.

10 So he went another derech, and returned not by the derech that he came to Beit-El.

11 Now there dwelt a navi zaken (old prophet) in Beit-El; and his banim came and told him kol hama’aseh that the Ish HaElohim had done that day in Beit-El: the devarim which he had spoken unto HaMelech, them they told also to their av.

12 And their av said unto them, What derech went he? For his banim had seen on what derech the Ish HaElohim, who came from Yehudah, went.

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

14 And went after the Ish HaElohim, found him sitting under the elah (the oak tree); and he said unto him, Art thou the Ish HaElohim that camest from Yehudah? And he said, I am.

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

16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat lechem nor drink mayim with thee in this makom;

17 For it was told to me by the Devar Hashem, Thou shalt eat no lechem nor drink mayim there, nor turn again to go by the derech on which thou camest.

18 He said unto him, I am a navi also as thou art; and a malach spoke unto me by the Devar Hashem, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine bais, that he may eat lechem and drink mayim. But he lied unto him.

19 So he went back with him, did eat lechem in his bais and drank mayim.

20 And it came to pass, as they sat at shulchan, that the Devar Hashem came unto the navi that brought him back;

21 And he cried unto the Ish HaElohim that came from Yehudah, saying, Thus saith Hashem, Forasmuch as thou hast defied the mouth of Hashem, and hast not been shomer over the mitzvah which Hashem Eloheicha commanded thee,

22 But camest back, and hast eaten lechem and drunk mayim in the makom, of the which Hashem did say to thee, Eat no lechem, drink no mayim; thy nevelah shall not come unto kever avoteicha.

23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten lechem, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the chamor for him, for the navi whom he had brought back.

24 And when he was gone, an aryeh met him by the derech, and killed him; and his nevelah was cast down in the derech, and the chamor stood beside her [the lion], and the aryeh also stood beside the nevelah.

25 And, hinei, anashim passed by, and saw the nevelah cast down in the derech, and the aryeh standing beside the nevelah; and they came and told it in the Ir where the navi hazaken dwelt.

26 And when the navi that brought him back from the derech heard thereof, he said, It is the Ish HaElohim, who defied the mouth of Hashem; therefore Hashem hath delivered him unto the aryeh, which hath mauled him, and slain him, according to the Devar Hashem, which He spoke unto him.

27 And he spoke to his banim, saying, Saddle me the chamor. And they saddled it.

28 And he went and found his nevelah cast down in the derech, and the chamor and the aryeh standing beside the nevelah; the aryeh had not eaten the nevelah, nor mauled the chamor.

29 The navi took up the nevelah of the Ish HaElohim, laid it upon the chamor, brought it back; and came to the Ir of the navi hazaken to mourn and to bury him.

30 And he laid his nevelah in his own kever; and they mourned over him, saying, Hoy (alas), achi (my brother)!

31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his banim, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the kever wherein the Ish HaElohim is buried; lay my atzmot beside his atzmot;

32 For the davar which he cried by the Devar Hashem against the mizbe’ach in Beit-El, and against all the batim of the high places which are in the cities of Shomron, shall surely come to pass.

33 After this thing Yarov‘am returned not from his derech har’ah, but installed again of the lowest of the people as kohanim of the high places; whosoever desired, he filled hands of [i.e., ordained] him, and he became one of the kohanim of the [idolatrous] high places [See Lv 7:37 and 8:25-36].

34 And this thing became chattat (sin) unto the Bais Yarov`am, even to annihilate it, and to destroy it from off the face of ha’adamah.

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God(A) came from Judah to Bethel,(B) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah(C) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places(D) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” That same day the man of God gave a sign:(E) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede(F) with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”(G)

But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,(H) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread(I) or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

11 Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

15 So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

16 The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread(J) or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”

18 The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord:(K) ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying(L) to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied(M) the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 22 You came 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 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion(N) met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25 Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

26 When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who defied(O) the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him.”

27 The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they did so. 28 Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. 29 So the 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. 30 Then he laid the body in his own tomb,(P) and they mourned over him and said, “Alas, my brother!”(Q)

31 After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones(R) beside his bones. 32 For the message he declared by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places(S) in the towns of Samaria(T) will certainly come true.”(U)

33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways,(V) but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts(W) of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. 34 This was the sin(X) of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction(Y) from the face of the earth.