^13:3That day he also announced⁶ a sign, “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined:⁷ The altar will be split open and the ashes⁸ on it will fall to the ground.”⁹^13:4When the king heard what the prophet¹⁰ cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand¹¹ and ordered,¹² “Seize him!” The hand he had extended shriveled up¹³ and he could not pull it back. ^13:5The altar split open and the ashes¹⁴ fell from the altar to the ground,¹⁵ in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority.¹⁶^13:6The king pled with¹⁷ the prophet,¹⁸ “Seek the favor of¹⁹ the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor²⁰ and the king’s hand was restored to its former condition.²¹^13:7The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I’d like to give a present.” ^13:8But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,²² I could not go with you and eat and drink²³ in this place. ^13:9For the Lord gave me strict orders,²⁴ ‘Do not eat or drink²⁵ there and do not go home the way you came.’ ” ^13:10So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.

^13:11Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel.²⁶ When his sons came home, they told their father²⁷ everything the prophet²⁸ had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king.²⁹^13:12Their father asked them, “Which road did he take?” His sons showed him³⁰ the road the prophet³¹ from Judah had taken. ^13:13He then told his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it ^13:14and took off after the prophet,³² whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the prophet³³ from Judah?” He answered, “Yes, I am.” ^13:15He then said to him, “Come home with me and eat something.” ^13:16But he replied, “I can’t go back with you³⁴ or eat and drink³⁵ with you in this place. ^13:17For the Lord gave me strict orders,³⁶ ‘Do not eat or drink³⁷ there; do not go back the way you came.’ ” ^13:18The old prophet then said,³⁸ “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority,³⁹ ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.’ ”⁴⁰ But he was lying to him.⁴¹^13:19So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house.⁴²

^13:20While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet⁴³^13:21and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You⁴⁴ have rebelled against the Lord⁴⁵ and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you.

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Footnotes

6 Heb “gave.”
7 Heb “spoken.”
8 Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See דשׁן.
9 Heb “will be poured out.”
10 Heb “the man of God.”
11 Heb “Jeroboam extended his hand from the altar.”
12 Heb “saying.”
13 Heb “dried up” or “withered.” and interpret this as “became paralyzed.”
14 Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See דשׁן.
15 Heb “were poured out from the altar.”
16 Heb “according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.”
17 Heb “The king answered and said to.”
18 Heb “the man of God” (a second time later in this verse, and once in v. 7 and v. 8).
19 Heb “appease the face of.”
20 Heb “appeased the face of the Lord.”
21 Heb “and it was as in the beginning.”
22 Heb “house.”
23 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
24 Heb “for this he commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying.”
25 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
26 For location see ; ; ; ; .
27 Heb “and his son came and told him.” The has the singular here, but several other textual witnesses have the plural, which is more consistent with the second half of the verse and with vv. 12–13.
28 Heb “the man of God.”
29 Heb “all the actions which the man of God performed that day in Bethel, the words which he spoke to the king, and they told them to their father.”
30 The Hebrew text has “and his sons saw” (וַיִּרְאוּ [vayyir’u], Qal from רָאָה [ra’ah]). In this case the verbal construction (vav consecutive + prefixed verbal form) would have to be understood as pluperfect, “his sons had seen.” Such uses of this construction are rare at best. Consequently many, following the lead of the ancient versions, prefer to emend the verbal form to a Hiphil with pronominal suffix (וַיַּרְאֻהוּ [vayyar’uhu], “and they showed him”).
31 Heb “the man of God.”
32 Heb “the man of God.”
33 Heb “the man of God.”
34 Heb “I am unable to return with you or to go with you.”
35 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
36 Heb “for a word to me by the word of the Lord.”
37 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
38 Heb “and he said to him.”
39 Heb “by the word of the Lord.”
40 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
41 Or “deceiving him.” He was lying to him. The motives and actions of the old prophet are difficult to understand. The old man’s response to the prophet’s death (see vv. 26–32) suggests he did not trick him with malicious intent. The old prophet probably wanted the honor of entertaining such a celebrity, or perhaps simply desired some social interaction with a fellow prophet.
42 Heb “and he returned with him and ate food in his house and drank water.”
43 Heb “and the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.”
44 The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 21–22 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 21–22a) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 22b). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.
45 Heb “the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord.”