The Man of God From Judah

1And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

2And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus says the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon you shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon you, and men's bones shall be burnt upon you.

3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD has spoken; Behold, the altar shall be torn, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

4And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he 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 pull it in again to him.

5The altar also was torn, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

6And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, 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 yourself, and I will give you a reward.

8And the man of God said unto the king, If you will give me half your house, I will not go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

9For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that you came.

10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.

11Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and 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 they told also to their father.

12And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.

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

14And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Are you the man of God that came 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 you, nor go in with you: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place:

17For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came.

18He said unto him, I am a prophet also as you are; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with you into your 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 the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:

21And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD, Because you have disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,

22But came back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to you, Eat no bread, and drink no water; your carcass shall not come unto the sepulcher of your fathers.

23And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the donkey, 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 carcass was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass.

25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass: 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 word of the LORD: therefore the LORD has delivered him unto the lion, which has torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke unto him.

27And he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the donkey. And they saddled it.

28And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor torn the donkey.

29And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the donkey, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.

30And he laid his carcass 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 spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulcher in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:

32For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD 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.

33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the 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.