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 . 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. 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 7And the king said unto the man of God , Come home with me , and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward . 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 ; 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 . 10So he went another way , and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el .
The King's Response and the Miracle
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 . 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 . 13And he said unto his sons , Saddle me the ass . So they saddled him the ass ; and he rode thereon . 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. 15Then he said unto him, Come home with me , and eat bread . 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 : 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 . 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 . 19So he went back with him , and did eat bread in his house , and drank water . 20And it came to pass , as they sat at the table , that the word of Jehovah came unto the prophet that 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 , 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.
The Deception of the Old Prophet
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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 27And he spake to his sons , saying , Saddle me the ass . And they saddled it . 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 . 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 . 30And he laid his body in his own grave ; and they mourned over him , saying , Alas , 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 . 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 .
The Consequences of Disobedience
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 . 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.