1 Kings 13

1 Suddenly [without warning], as Jeroboam [the first king of the northern kingdom] was standing [in a position of authority] beside the altar [a place of sacrifice] to burn incense [to offer worship], there came a man [a prophet, a messenger] of God [Elohim, the supreme Being] from Judah [the southern kingdom] to Bethel [the house of God] by the word [a command, a message] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]. word study 2 And he cried out [shouted, made an outcry] against the altar [place of sacrifice, where offerings are made to God] by the word [command, message] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD [God, the supreme ruler] says: ‘A son [descendant, child] named Josiah [whom Jehovah heals] will be born [will come into being] to the house [family, dynasty] of David, and upon you he will sacrifice [slaughter, offer as a sacrifice] the priests [spiritual leaders, mediators] of the high places [elevated areas, cultic platforms] who burn incense [offer fragrant smoke] upon you, and human bones [the remains of the dead] will be burned [consumed by fire] upon you.’” word study 3 That day [the same time, at that moment] the man of God [a prophet, one who speaks for the Lord] gave a sign [a wonder, a miracle], saying, “The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] has spoken [communicated, declared] this sign [a token, a display of power]: ‘Surely [behold, look] the altar [a place of sacrifice, where offerings are made] will be split apart [rent, torn], and the ashes [the remains of sacrifices] upon it will be poured out [spilled, scattered].’” word study 4 Now when King [ruler, monarch] Jeroboam, who was at the altar [place of sacrifice, worship] in Bethel [house of God, sacred place], heard the word [message, declaration] that the man of God [prophet, messenger of God] had cried out [spoken loudly, proclaimed] against it, he stretched out his hand [extended his arm, exercised his power] and said, “Seize [capture, apprehend] him!” But the hand he stretched out toward him withered [dried up, became useless], so that he could not pull it back [return it to its normal position, regain its strength]. word study 5 And the altar [place of sacrifice, where offerings are made to God] was split apart [rent, torn, broken], and the ashes [remains of sacrifices] poured out, according to the sign [wonder, miracle, token] that the man [human, individual] of God [Elohim, the supreme Being] had given [provided, offered] by the word [divine message, revelation] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God]. word study 6 Then the king [ruler, monarch] responded to the man of God [prophet, messenger of the Lord], “Intercede [pray, entreat] with the LORD [Yehovah, the one true God] your God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] and pray [ask, request] that my hand [strength, power] may be restored [healed, made whole].” So the man of God [God’s servant, prophet] interceded [prayed, besought] with the LORD, and the king’s hand [power, authority] was restored [returned, revived] to him as it was before [in the beginning, originally]. word study 7 Then the king [ruler, monarch] said to the man [male person, individual] of God [Elohim, the supreme Being], “Come home [to my house, with me] with me and refresh [support, comfort] yourself, and I will give [bestow, grant] you a reward [gift].” word study 8 But the man [prophet, messenger of God] of God replied, “If you were to give me half [a portion, a share] your possessions, I still would not go [walk, journey] with you, nor would I eat [consume, devour] bread [food, sustenance] or drink [imbibe, refresh] water [the source of life] in this place [location, region]. word study 9 For this is what I was commanded [instructed, charged] by the word [divine message, utterance] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God]: ‘You must not [are not to, shall not] eat bread [food, nourishment] or drink water [refreshment, sustenance] or return [turn back, go back] by the way [path, journey] you came [walked, traveled].’” word study 10 So the man [servant, prophet] of God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] went [to walk, travel] another [different, next] way [road, path, journey] and did not return [to turn back, reverse] by the way [road, path, manner] he had come [to go, approach] to Bethel [house of God, sacred place]. word study 11 Now a certain old [elderly, seasoned] prophet [one who speaks for God] was living [dwelling, residing] in Bethel [house of God], and his sons came and told him all the deeds [works, actions] that the man of God had done that day in Bethel [a place of worship]. They also told their father the words [messages, declarations] that the man had spoken [communicated, declared] to the king [a ruler, leader]. word study 12 “Which way [where, in what direction] did he go?” their father [parent, ancestor] asked. And his sons [male children, descendants] showed him the way [path, journey] taken by the man [male person, prophet] of God [Elohim, the supreme deity], who had come [arrived, traveled] from Judah [the tribe, the region]. word study 13 So the prophet [a spokesperson for God] said to his sons [descendants, family members], “Saddle [to tie or bind, prepare] the donkey [a male ass, a beast of burden] for me [on my behalf, for my use].” Then they saddled [to tie or bind, prepare] the donkey [a riding animal] for him, and he mounted [to ride, get on] it [the donkey, his mode of transportation] word study 14 and went after [pursued, followed] the man [male person, individual] of God [Elohim, the supreme Creator]. He found him sitting [dwelling, remaining] under an oak tree [a strong tree] and asked, “Are you [to you, towards you] the man of God [prophet, messenger of God] who came [approached, traveled] from Judah [the tribe, the region]?” “I am [I exist, I am present],” he replied. word study 15 So the prophet [a spokesperson for God] said to the man of God [a faithful servant of the Lord], “Come home [to my house, with me] with me [in my company, as a companion] and eat [consume, devour] some bread [food, nourishment].” word study 16 But the man replied, “I cannot [am not able] return [to go back, turn around] with you or eat [consume, devour] bread [food, grain] or drink [imbibe, swallow] water [liquid refreshment] with you in this [specific, particular] place [location, region]. word study 17 For I have been told by the word [divine message, revelation] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]: ‘You must not eat [consume, devour] bread [food, nourishment] or drink [imbibe, refresh] water [liquid, refreshment] there [in that place, at that location] or return [turn back, go back] by the way [path, road] you came [walked, traveled].’” word study 18 Then the prophet [a spokesperson for God, a messenger] replied, “I too [also, in the same manner] am a prophet [one who speaks for God, a true messenger] like you, and an angel [a heavenly messenger, a divine representative] spoke to me by the word [the command, the revelation] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God], saying, ‘Bring him back [to return, to turn back] with you to your house [your dwelling place, your home], so that he may eat [partake of, devour] bread [food, nourishment] and drink [consume, swallow] water [refreshment, sustenance].’” The old prophet [a false prophet, a deceiver] was lying [deceiving, speaking falsely] to him, word study 19 but the man [servant, prophet] of God [the Almighty, divine One] went back [returned, turned back] with him, ate [consumed, devoured] bread [food, nourishment] in his house [dwelling place, home], and drank [imbibed, feasted on] water [refreshment, spiritual drink]. word study 20 While they [the group of men] were sitting [dwelling, remaining] at the table [a place of communion, sacred purposes], the word [divine message, declaration] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] came to the prophet [one who speaks for God, a spokesperson] who had brought him back [returned, turned him around], word study 21 and the prophet cried out to the man [a male person, individual] of God [Elohim, the supreme God] who had come from Judah [the tribe descended from Judah], “This is what the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] says: ‘Because [since, for the reason that] you have defied [rebelled, disobeyed] the word [command, instruction] of the LORD [Yehovah] and have not kept [obeyed, protected] the commandment [law, rule] that the LORD [Yehovah] your God [Elohim, the one supreme God] gave [commanded, appointed] you, word study 22 but you went back [returned, turned back] and ate [devoured, consumed] bread [food, grain] and drank [partook of, feasted on] water [liquid refreshment] in the place [location, region] where He told [commanded, instructed] you not to do so [to abstain, refrain], your body [carcass, dead body] shall never [not at all, under no circumstances] reach [come to, arrive at] the tomb [sepulchre, grave] of your fathers [ancestors, forefathers].’” word study 23 And after [following, subsequent to] the man of God [prophet, spokesperson for the divine] had finished eating [consuming food, devouring] and drinking [ingesting liquids, feasting], the old prophet [aged spokesperson, seasoned messenger] who had brought him back [returned, turned him around] saddled [tied, bound firmly] the donkey [male ass, beast of burden] for him. word study 24 As he went on his way [to walk, to journey], a lion met him on the road [the path, the journey] and killed him [to die, to be slain], and his body [carcass, dead body] was left lying in the road [the way, the path], with the donkey [a beast of burden] and the lion standing [to stand, to be upright] beside it [near, close to]. word study 25 And there were men [passers-by, travelers] passing by who saw the body [carcass, dead body] lying in the road [way, path] with the lion standing [standing upright] beside it, and they went and reported [told, spoke of] this in the city [town, settlement] where the old [elderly, aged] prophet [one who speaks for God] lived [dwelt, resided]. word study 26 When the prophet [spokesperson for God] who had brought him back [to return, turn back] from his journey [way, path] heard this, he said, “It is the man of God [one who speaks for God, having God’s nature] who disobeyed [resisted, rebelled against] the command [word, instruction] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]. Therefore the LORD [the supreme God] has delivered [given, put] him to the lion, and it has mauled [broken, shattered] him and killed [caused to die, taken his life] him, according to the word [thing, matter] that the LORD [Yehovah] had spoken [communicated, commanded] to him.” word study 27 Then the old prophet [a man of God, inspired prophet] instructed [spoke to, commanded] his sons [descendants, young ones], “Saddle [tie, bind] the donkey [male donkey] for me [on my behalf, for my use].” So they saddled [tied, bound] it, word study 28 and he went [to walk, to move forward] and found the body [carcass, dead body] lying in the road [way, path], with the donkey [male ass] and the lion standing [to stand, upright] beside [near, close to] it. The lion [powerful animal] had not eaten [to devour, to consume] the body [carcass, dead body] or mauled [to break, to shatter] the donkey. word study 29 So the old [elderly, venerable] prophet [one who speaks for God] lifted up [to raise, to exalt] the body [carcass, corpse] of the man [a male person, a human] of God [Elohim, the supreme Creator], laid it on the donkey [a male ass, a beast of burden], and brought it back [to return, to turn back] to his own city [a town, a place of dwelling] to mourn [to lament, to express sorrow] for him and bury [to inter, to lay to rest] him. word study 30 Then he laid the body [carcass, dead body] in his own tomb [grave, sepulchre], and they lamented [mourned, expressing deep sadness] over him, “Oh [woe!, alas], my brother [close relative, friend]!” word study 31 After he had buried him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I [shall have passed away] die, you must bury me in the tomb [sepulcher, grave] where the man [a male person, individual] of God [Elohim, the supreme God] is buried. Lay my bones [the substance or essence of my body] beside [near, close to] his bones [the remains of his body], word study 32 for the message [proclamation, declaration] that he cried out by the word [divine utterance, command] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] against the altar [place of sacrifice, worship] in Bethel [house of God, sacred place] and against all [every, the entirety of] the shrines [high places, cultic platforms] on the high places [elevations, mountains] in the cities [towns, urban areas] of Samaria [watch mountain, capital city] will surely [certainly, without a doubt] come to pass [be fulfilled, happen].” word study 33 Even after [following, subsequent to] these events, Jeroboam [the people will contend] did not repent [turn back, change his mind] of his evil [morally bad, wicked] ways, but again he appointed [ordained, consecrated] priests for the high places [elevated areas, cultic platforms] from every class [group, kind] of people. He ordained [consecrated, made a priest] anyone who desired [was willing, wanted to] to be a priest [one who serves God, leads in worship] of the high places. word study 34 And this [specific, particular] was the sin [guilt, rebellion] of the house [family, dynasty] of Jeroboam [the people will contend] that led to its extermination [cutting off, destruction] and destruction [annihilation, devastation] from the face [presence, sight] of the earth [land, ground]. word study