| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD. | 1Just then a prophet from Judah, sent by the LORD, arrived in Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. |
| 2And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’ ” | 2With the authority of the LORD he cried out against the altar, "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says, 'Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.'" |
| 3That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’ ” | 3That day he also announced a sign, "This is the sign the LORD has predetermined: The altar will be split open and the ashes on it will fall to the ground." |
| 4Now when King Jeroboam, who was at the altar in Bethel, heard the word that the man of God had cried out against it, he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward him withered, so that he could not pull it back. | 4When the king heard what the prophet cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand and ordered, "Seize him!" The hand he had extended shriveled up and he could not pull it back. |
| 5And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. | 5The altar split open and the ashes fell from the altar to the ground, in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the LORD's authority. |
| 6Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before. | 6The king pled with the prophet, "Seek the favor of the LORD your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored." So the prophet sought the LORD's favor and the king's hand was restored to its former condition. |
| 7Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” | 7The king then said to the prophet, "Come home with me and have something to eat. I'd like to give a present." |
| 8But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your possessions, I still would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. | 8But the prophet said to the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I could not go with you and eat and drink in this place. |
| 9For this is what I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’ ” | 9For the LORD gave me strict orders, 'Do not eat or drink there and do not go home the way you came.'" |
| 10So the man of God went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel. | 10So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel. |
| 11Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words that the man had spoken to the king. | 11Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. When his sons came home, they told their father everything the prophet had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king. |
| 12“Which way did he go?” their father asked. And his sons showed him the way taken by the man of God, who had come from Judah. | 12Their father asked them, "Which road did he take?" His sons showed him the road the prophet from Judah had taken. |
| 13So the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” Then they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it | 13He then told his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it |
| 14and went after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “I am,” he replied. | 14and took off after the prophet, whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, "Are you the prophet from Judah?" He answered, "Yes, I am." |
| 15So the prophet said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some bread.” | 15He then said to him, "Come home with me and eat something." |
| 16But the man replied, “I cannot return with you or eat bread or drink water with you in this place. | 16But he replied, "I can't go back with you or eat and drink with you in this place. |
| 17For I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’ ” | 17For the LORD gave me strict orders, 'Do not eat or drink there; do not go back the way you came.'" |
| 18Then the prophet replied, “I too 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, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” The old prophet was lying to him, | 18The old prophet then said, "I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the LORD's authority, 'Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.'" But he was lying to him. |
| 19but the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water. | 19So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house. |
| 20While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back, | 20While they were sitting at the table, the LORD spoke through the old prophet |
| 21and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment that the LORD your God gave you, | 21and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, "This is what the LORD says, 'You have rebelled against the LORD and have not obeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. |
| 22but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to do so, your body shall never reach the tomb of your fathers.’ ” | 22You went back and ate and drank in this place, even though he said to you, "Do not eat or drink there." Therefore your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.'" |
| 23And after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him. | 23When the prophet from Judah finished his meal, the old prophet saddled his visitor's donkey for him. |
| 24As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. | 24As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it. |
| 25And there were men passing by who saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported this in the city where the old prophet lived. | 25Some men came by and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it. They went and reported what they had seen in the city where the old prophet lived. |
| 26When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.” | 26When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news, he said, "It is the prophet who rebelled against the LORD. The LORD delivered him over to the lion and it ripped him up and killed him, just as the LORD warned him." |
| 27Then the old prophet instructed his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it, | 27He told his sons, "Saddle my donkey," and they did so. |
| 28and he went and found the body lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or mauled the donkey. | 28He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it; the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. |
| 29So the old prophet lifted up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. | 29The old prophet picked up the corpse of the prophet, put it on the donkey, and brought it back. The old prophet then entered the city to mourn him and to bury him. |
| 30Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!” | 30He put the corpse into his own tomb, and they mourned over him, saying, "Ah, my brother!" |
| 31After he had buried him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, you must bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones, | 31After he buried him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet is buried; put my bones right beside his bones, |
| 32for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.” | 32for the prophecy he announced with the LORD's authority against the altar in Bethel and against all the temples on the high places in the cities of the north will certainly be fulfilled." |
| 33Even after these events, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways, but again he appointed priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained anyone who desired to be a priest of the high places. | 33After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways; he continued to appoint common people as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest. |
| 34And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth. | 34This sin caused Jeroboam's dynasty to come to an end and to be destroyed from the face of the earth. |
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