1 Kings 13:3–21

At the same time he announced a sign: “This is the proof God gives—the Altar will split into pieces and the holy offerings spill into the dirt.”

^4–5When the king heard the message the holy man preached against the Altar at Bethel, he reached out to grab him, yelling, “Arrest him!” But his arm was paralyzed and hung useless. At the same time the Altar broke apart and the holy offerings all spilled into the dirt—the very sign the holy man had announced by God’s command.

⁶The king pleaded with the holy man, “Help me! Pray to your God for the healing of my arm.” The holy man prayed for him and the king’s arm was healed—as good as new!

⁷Then the king invited the holy man, “Join me for a meal; I have a gift for you.”

^8–10The holy man told the king, “Not on your life! You couldn’t pay me enough to get me to sit down with you at a meal in this place. I’m here under God’s orders, and he commanded, ‘Don’t eat a crumb, don’t drink a drop, and don’t go back the way you came.’ ” Then he left by a different road than the one on which he had walked to Bethel.

¹¹There was an old prophet who lived in Bethel. His sons came and told him the story of what the holy man had done that day in Bethel, told him everything that had happened and what the holy man had said to the king.

¹²Their father said, “Which way did he go?” His sons pointed out the road that the holy man from Judah had taken.

^13–14He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” When they had saddled it, he got on and rode after the holy man. He found him sitting under an oak tree.

He asked him, “Are you the holy man who came from Judah?”

“Yes, I am,” he said.

¹⁵“Well, come home with me and have a meal.”

^16–17“Sorry, I can’t do that,” the holy man said. “I can neither go back with you nor eat with you in this country. I’m under strict orders from God: ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop; and don’t come back the way you came.’ ”

^18–19But he said, “I am also a prophet, just like you. And an angel came to me with a message from God: ‘Bring him home with you, and give him a good meal!’ ” But the man was lying. So the holy man went home with him and they had a meal together.

^20–22There they were, sitting at the table together, when the word of God came to the prophet who had brought him back. He confronted the holy man who had come from Judah: “God’s word to you: You disobeyed God’s command; you didn’t keep the strict orders your God gave you;