A Man of God Is Sent to Prophesy to Jeroboam |
1 Kings 13:1-34 1 Kings [in Smaller Chunks] |
By the word of the Lord, a man of God came out of Judah & [went] to Bethel. Jeroboam, [Nebat’s] son, stood by the altar to burn incense [to one of the gold calf false gods he made for the Israelites to worship instead of going to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God]. |
[The man of God] cried [out] against the altar [of the false gods] [with] the word of the Lord & said, O altar, O altar, the Lord has said; Behold, a child shall be born to the house of David, [named] Josiah. |
Upon you [altar], [Josiah] shall offer the priests of the high places [used to worship false gods,] [who] burn incense upon you [altar] & men’s bones shall be burnt upon you. |
[The man of God] gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign [that] the Lord has spoken [about;] Behold, the altar shall be [broken] and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. |
It [happened,] when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, [who] had cried against the altar in Bethel, [Jeroboam] put [out] his hand from the altar, saying, [Grab] him. |
And [Jeroboam’s] hand he had put out against [the man of God] [shriveled] up, so that [Jeroboam] couldn’t pull his hand in again. The altar also [split apart] & the ashes poured out, according to the [Lord’s] sign the man of God had [told Jeroboam]. |
King [Jeroboam] answered & said to the man of God, At the face of the Lord your God, I [request] you pray for me, [so] my hand may be restored again [for] me. |
The man of God [begged] the Lord & the king’s hand was restored [to] him again & became as it was before. The king said to the man of God, Come home with me & refresh yourself & I will give you a reward. |
The man of God said to the king, [Even] if you [were] to give me 1/2 [of your] house, I wouldn’t go in with you, neither will I eat bread or drink water in this place, [because I was told] by the word of the Lord, saying, Don’t eat bread, nor drink water, nor [return] the same way you came. |
So, [the man of God] went another way & came to Bethel. Now, an old prophet [lived] in Bethel & his sons came & told him all [the things] the man of God had done that day in Bethel & the words he had spoken to the king. |
Their father said to them, [Which] way [did he go]? His sons had seen the way the man of God, [who] came from Judah, went. [The old prophet told] his sons, Saddle me a [mule,] so they [did] & he rode [on it] & went after the man of God & found him sitting under an oak. |
He [asked,] Are you the man of God [who] came from Judah. He said, I am. The [old prophet] said to him, Come home with me & eat bread. [The man of God] said, I may not return with you, nor go in with you. Neither will I eat bread, nor drink water with you in this place. |
For I was told by the word of the Lord, You should eat no bread, nor drink water there, nor return the way you came. The [old prophet] said, I am a prophet [like] you are & an angel [spoke] to me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with you to your house, [so] he may eat bread & drink water. |
But [the old prophet] lied to [the man of God]. So, the [man of God] went back with [the old prophet] & [ate & drank] water in his house. As they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet [who] brought him back. |
He cried [out] to the man of God, saying, The Lord [said, Since] you disobeyed the [words] by the mouth of the Lord & haven’t kept His [command that] He commanded you, But you came back & [ate] bread & [drank] water in this place [when] the Lord [told you not to;] |
Your carcass shall not come [into] the [tomb] of your [forefathers]. After he had eaten bread & drunk [water, the old prophet] saddled a [mule] for the prophet he had brought back. |
When [the man of God] was gone, a lion met him by the [road] & slew him & his carcass was [thrown in the road] & [mule] & the [lion] stood by [it]. They came & told [about] it in the city where the old prophet lived. |
When the prophet [who] brought him back, heard [of it,] he said, It is the man of God, who [disobeyed] the [Lord’s] word. Therefore, the Lord has delivered him to the lion, [that] has torn & killed him, according to the word the Lord had spoken to him. |
He [said] to his sons, Saddle me the [mule] & [they did]. He went & found his carcass in the [road] & the [mule] & the lion standing by the carcass & the lion hadn’t eaten the carcass, nor [attacked] the [mule]. |
The prophet took the carcass of the man of God & laid it upon the [mule] & brought it back & the old prophet came to the city to mourn & to bury him. [The old prophet] laid the carcass [of the man of God] in his [own] grave & they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! |
It [happened,] after they buried [the man of God,] that [the old prophet] spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, bury me in the [tomb where] we buried the man of God. |
Lay my bones beside his bones: [Because of] the saying [that the man of God] cried by the word of the Lord against the altar of Bethel [Jeroboam built to worship false gods,] & against all the houses [to worship the false gods] [in] the high places in the cities of Samaria, shall surely [happen]. |
After this, Jeroboam didn’t return from his evil [ways,] but made the [lowliest] of people [false] priests of the high places [to worship the false gods]. This [was the] sin of the house of Jeroboam, [that led to his downfall] & [destruction from] the face of the earth. |