3 Kingdoms 13, verse 1. Now behold, there came by the word of the Lord a man of God from Judah to Bethel, even as Jeroboam stood by the altar of the sacrifice. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 2. By the word of the Lord, he cried out against the altar, saying, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, a son is to be born to the house of David, Josiah is his name, and he will kill the priests of the high places upon you, offering sacrifice upon you; and he will burn the bones of men upon you.’” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 3. In that day, he gave a sign, saying, “This is the sign the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the fat on it shall be poured out.” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 4. So when King Jeroboam heard the words of the man of God who cried out against the altar in Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But behold, the hand he stretched out toward him withered, and he himself could not stretch it back. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 5. The altar was broken apart, and the fat on the altar poured out from the altar—this according to the sign the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 6. Then King Jeroboam said to the man of God, “Entreat the favor of the Lord your God, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored new, as it was before. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 7. Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 8. But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you give me half your house, I would not go in with you. Nor will I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 9. For the Lord commanded me, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 10. So he went another way, and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.
The Old Prophet in Bethel
3 Kingdoms 13, verse 11. Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works the man of God did that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words he spoke to the king, and the father's countenance changed. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 12. Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” His sons pointed out the way the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 13. Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted, 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 14. to seek after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree. Then he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 15. Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 16. And he said, “I cannot return with you, nor eat bread or drink water in this place. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 17. For the Lord commanded me, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread or drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 18. The old prophet said to him, “I am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he was lying to him. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 19. The man of God went back with him, and ate bread and drank water in his house. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 20. As they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who brought him to his house; 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 21. and he said to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you disobeyed the word of the Lord and did not keep the commandment the Lord your God commanded you, 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 22. but indeed, did come back, and ate bread and drank water in the place where the Lord said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”; therefore, your dead body shall never enter the tomb of your fathers.’” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 23. So after he ate bread and drank water, he saddled the donkey for him, and he departed. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 24. After he left, a lion met him and killed him on the road, and his dead body remained by the side of the road. The donkey and the lion stood by the dead body. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 25. When men passed by and saw the corpse on the road, with the lion standing by the corpse, they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 26. Now when the old prophet who had brought him to his house heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord.” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 27. Then he said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled one. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 28. Then he went and found his dead body thrown on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing next to it. The body was not eaten by the lion, nor did the lion maul the donkey. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 29. The prophet took up the dead body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it to the city to bury him in his own tomb. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 30. They mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 31. So after he mourned for him, he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then bury me in this tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay me beside his bones, that my bones shall be preserved with his bones. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 32. For the word will surely come to pass which he spoke by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places in Samaria.” 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 33. But even after this event, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but he again made priests from every class of people for the high places. Whoever desired to be a priest, he consecrated him, and he became a priest of the high places. 3 Kingdoms 13, verse 34. This became the sin of the house of Jeroboam, even to its total disappearance from the face of the earth.