| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 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. | 1At the LORD’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. |
| 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.’ ” | 2Then at the LORD’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and 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 same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The LORD has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on 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 King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t 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. | 5At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD. |
| 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 cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the LORD your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again. |
| 7Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” | 7Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.” |
| 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 man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything 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 this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same 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 left Bethel and went home another way. |
| 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. | 11As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said 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. | 12The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they showed their father which road the man of God 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 | 13“Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and 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. | 14Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “Yes, I am,” he replied. |
| 15So the prophet said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some bread.” | 15Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.” |
| 16But the man replied, “I cannot return with you or eat bread or drink water with you in this place. | 16“No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here 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 this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same 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, | 18But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the LORD: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. |
| 19but the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water. | 19So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home. |
| 20While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back, | 20Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the LORD came to 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, | 21He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: You have defied the word of the LORD and have disobeyed 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 came back to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.” |
| 23And after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him. | 23After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own 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. | 24and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing 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. | 25People who passed by saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, 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 prophet heard the report, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD’s command. The LORD has fulfilled his word by causing the lion to attack and kill him.” |
| 27Then the old prophet instructed his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it, | 27Then the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled a donkey, |
| 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. | 28and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body 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. | 29So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the town to mourn over him and bury him. |
| 30Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!” | 30He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, “Oh, 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, | 31Afterward the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones 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 message the LORD told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.” |
| 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. | 33But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the common people. He appointed anyone who wanted to become a priest for the pagan shrines. |
| 34And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth. | 34This became a great sin and resulted in the utter destruction of Jeroboam’s dynasty from the face of the earth. |
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