1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, 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.
5 The altar also was rent, 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.
6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD thy 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.
7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
9 For 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 thou camest.
10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass.
25 And, 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.
26 And 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 hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
28 And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor torn the ass.
29 And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
30 And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
33 After 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.
34 And 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.
1 And, behold, there came H935 a man H376 of God H430 out of Judah H3063 by the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 unto Bethel: H1008 and Jeroboam H3379 stood H5975 by the altar H4196 to burn incense. H6999
2 And he cried H7121 against the altar H4196 in the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 and said, H559 O altar, H4196 altar, H4196 thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Behold, a child H1121 shall be born H3205 unto the house H1004 of David, H1732 Josiah H2977 by name; H8034 and upon thee shall he offer H2076 the priests H3548 of the high places H1116 that burn incense H6999 upon thee, and men's H120 bones H6106 shall be burnt H8313 upon thee.
3 And he gave H5414 a sign H4159 the same day, H3117 saying, H559 This is the sign H4159 which the LORD H3068 hath spoken; H1696 Behold, the altar H4196 shall be rent, H7167 and the ashes H1880 that are upon it shall be poured out. H8210
4 And it came to pass, when king H4428 Jeroboam H3379 heard H8085 the saying H1697 of the man H376 of God, H430 which had cried H7121 against the altar H4196 in Bethel, H1008 that he put forth H7971 his hand H3027 from the altar, H4196 saying, H559 Lay hold H8610 on him. And his hand, H3027 which he put forth H7971 against him, dried up, H3001 so that he could H3201 not pull it in again H7725 to him.
5 The altar H4196 also was rent, H7167 and the ashes H1880 poured out H8210 from the altar, H4196 according to the sign H4159 which the man H376 of God H430 had given H5414 by the word H1697 of the LORD. H3068
6 And the king H4428 answered H6030 and said H559 unto the man H376 of God, H430 Intreat H2470 now the face H6440 of the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 and pray H6419 for me, that my hand H3027 may be restored me again. H7725 And the man H376 of God H430 besought H2470 H6440 the LORD, H3068 and the king's H4428 hand H3027 was restored him again, H7725 and became as it was before. H7223
7 And the king H4428 said H1696 unto the man H376 of God, H430 Come H935 home H1004 with me, and refresh H5582 thyself, and I will give H5414 thee a reward. H4991
8 And the man H376 of God H430 said H559 unto the king, H4428 If thou wilt give H5414 me half H2677 thine house, H1004 I will not go in H935 with thee, neither will I eat H398 bread H3899 nor drink H8354 water H4325 in this place: H4725
9 For so was it charged H6680 me by the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 Eat H398 no bread, H3899 nor drink H8354 water, H4325 nor turn again H7725 by the same way H1870 that thou camest. H1980
10 So he went H3212 another H312 way, H1870 and returned H7725 not by the way H1870 that he came H935 to Bethel. H1008
11 Now there dwelt H3427 an H259 old H2205 prophet H5030 in Bethel; H1008 and his sons H1121 came H935 and told H5608 him all the works H4639 that the man H376 of God H430 had done H6213 that day H3117 in Bethel: H1008 the words H1697 which he had spoken H1696 unto the king, H4428 them they told H5608 also to their father. H1
12 And their father H1 said H1696 unto them, What way H1870 went H1980 he? For his sons H1121 had seen H7200 what H335 way H1870 the man H376 of God H430 went, H1980 which came H935 from Judah. H3063
13 And he said H559 unto his sons, H1121 Saddle H2280 me the ass. H2543 So they saddled H2280 him the ass: H2543 and he rode H7392 thereon,
14 And went H3212 after H310 the man H376 of God, H430 and found H4672 him sitting H3427 under an oak: H424 and he said H559 unto him, Art thou the man H376 of God H430 that camest H935 from Judah? H3063 And he said, H559 I am.
15 Then he said H559 unto him, Come H3212 home H1004 with me, and eat H398 bread. H3899
16 And he said, H559 I may H3201 not return H7725 with thee, nor go in H935 with thee: neither will I eat H398 bread H3899 nor drink H8354 water H4325 with thee in this place: H4725
17 For it was said H1697 to me by the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 Thou shalt eat H398 no bread H3899 nor drink H8354 water H4325 there, nor turn again H7725 to go H3212 by the way H1870 that thou camest. H1980
18 He said H559 unto him, I am a prophet H5030 also as thou art; and an angel H4397 spake H1696 unto me by the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 Bring him back H7725 with thee into thine house, H1004 that he may eat H398 bread H3899 and drink H8354 water. H4325 But he lied H3584 unto him.
19 So he went back H7725 with him, and did eat H398 bread H3899 in his house, H1004 and drank H8354 water. H4325
20 And it came to pass, as they sat H3427 at the table, H7979 that the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 came unto the prophet H5030 that brought him back: H7725
21 And he cried H7121 unto the man H376 of God H430 that came H935 from Judah, H3063 saying, H559 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Forasmuch as H3282 thou hast disobeyed H4784 the mouth H6310 of the LORD, H3068 and hast not kept H8104 the commandment H4687 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 commanded H6680 thee,
22 But camest back, H7725 and hast eaten H398 bread H3899 and drunk H8354 water H4325 in the place, H4725 of the which the LORD did say H1696 to thee, Eat H398 no bread, H3899 and drink H8354 no water; H4325 thy carcase H5038 shall not come H935 unto the sepulchre H6913 of thy fathers. H1
23 And it came to pass, after H310 he had eaten H398 bread, H3899 and after H310 he had drunk, H8354 that he saddled H2280 for him the ass, H2543 to wit, for the prophet H5030 whom he had brought back. H7725
24 And when he was gone, H3212 a lion H738 met H4672 him by the way, H1870 and slew H4191 him: and his carcase H5038 was cast H7993 in the way, H1870 and the ass H2543 stood H5975 by H681 it, the lion H738 also stood H5975 by the carcase. H5038
25 And, behold, men H582 passed by, H5674 and saw H7200 the carcase H5038 cast H7993 in the way, H1870 and the lion H738 standing H5975 by H681 the carcase: H5038 and they came H935 and told H1696 it in the city H5892 where the old H2205 prophet H5030 dwelt. H3427
26 And when the prophet H5030 that brought him back H7725 from the way H1870 heard H8085 thereof, he said, H559 It is the man H376 of God, H430 who was disobedient H4784 unto the word H6310 of the LORD: H3068 therefore the LORD H3068 hath delivered H5414 him unto the lion, H738 which hath torn H7665 him, and slain H4191 him, according to the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 which he spake H1696 unto him.
27 And he spake H1696 to his sons, H1121 saying, H559 Saddle H2280 me the ass. H2543 And they saddled H2280 him.
28 And he went H3212 and found H4672 his carcase H5038 cast H7993 in the way, H1870 and the ass H2543 and the lion H738 standing H5975 by H681 the carcase: H5038 the lion H738 had not eaten H398 the carcase, H5038 nor torn H7665 the ass. H2543
29 And the prophet H5030 took up H5375 the carcase H5038 of the man H376 of God, H430 and laid H3240 it upon the ass, H2543 and brought it back: H7725 and the old H2205 prophet H5030 came H935 to the city, H5892 to mourn H5594 and to bury H6912 him.
30 And he laid H3240 his carcase H5038 in his own grave; H6913 and they mourned H5594 over him, saying, Alas, H1945 my brother! H251
31 And it came to pass, after H310 he had buried H6912 him, that he spake H559 to his sons, H1121 saying, H559 When I am dead, H4191 then bury H6912 me in the sepulchre H6913 wherein the man H376 of God H430 is buried; H6912 lay H3240 my bones H6106 beside H681 his bones: H6106
32 For the saying H1697 which he cried H7121 by the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 against the altar H4196 in Bethel, H1008 and against all the houses H1004 of the high places H1116 which are in the cities H5892 of Samaria, H8111 shall surely come to pass.
33 After H310 this thing H1697 Jeroboam H3379 returned H7725 not from his evil H7451 way, H1870 but made H6213 again H7725 of the lowest H7098 of the people H5971 priests H3548 of the high places: H1116 whosoever would, H2655 he consecrated H4390 H3027 him, and he became one of the priests H3548 of the high places. H1116
34 And this thing H1697 became sin H2403 unto the house H1004 of Jeroboam, H3379 even to cut it off, H3582 and to destroy H8045 it from off the face H6440 of the earth. H127
1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of Jehovah unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon thee.
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
4 And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam 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 draw it back again to him.
5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah.
6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the favor of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God entreated Jehovah, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;
9 for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest.
10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.
11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of 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 also they told unto their father.
12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? Now his sons had seen what way the man of God went, that came from Judah.
13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon.
14 And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak; and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 for it was said to me by the word of Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
18 And he said unto him, I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. `But' he lied unto him.
19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of Jehovah came unto the prophet that brought him back;
21 and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient unto the mouth of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment which Jehovah thy God commanded thee,
22 but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy body shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, `to wit', for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his body was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the body.
25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26 And 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 mouth of Jehovah: therefore Jehovah hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake unto him.
27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled it.
28 And he went and found his body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the body: the lion had not eaten the body, nor torn the ass.
29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, and to bury him.
30 And he laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, `saying', Alas, my brother!
31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
32 For the saying which he cried by the word of Jehovah 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.
33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.
34 And 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.
1 And lo, a man of God hath come from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, unto Beth-El, and Jeroboam is standing by the altar -- to make perfume;
2 and he calleth against the altar, by the word of Jehovah, and saith, `Altar! altar! thus said Jehovah, Lo, a son is born to the house of David -- Josiah his name -- and he hath sacrificed on thee the priests of the high places who are making perfume on thee, and bones of man are burnt on thee.'
3 And he hath given on that day a sign, saying, `This `is' the sign that Jehovah hath spoken, Lo, the altar is rent, and the ashes poured forth that `are' on it.'
4 And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the word of the man of God that he calleth against the altar in Beth-El, that Jeroboam putteth forth his hand from off the altar, saying, `Catch him;' and his hand is dried up that he hath put forth against him, and he is not able to bring it back unto him,
5 and the altar is rent, and the ashes poured forth from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah.
6 And the king answereth and saith unto the man of God, `Appease, I pray thee, the face of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, and my hand doth come back unto me;' and the man of God appeaseth the face of Jehovah, and the hand of the king cometh back unto him, and it is as at the beginning.
7 And the king speaketh unto the man of God, `Come in with me to the house, and refresh thyself, and I give to thee a gift.'
8 And the man of God saith unto the king, `If thou dost give to me the half of thine house, I do not go in with thee, nor do I eat bread, nor do I drink water, in this place;
9 for so He commanded me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water, nor turn back in the way that thou hast come.'
10 And he goeth on in another way, and hath not turned back in the way in which he came in unto Beth-El.
11 And a certain aged prophet is dwelling in Beth-El, and his son cometh and recounteth to him all the deed that the man of God hath done to-day in Beth-El, the words that he hath spoken unto the king, -- yea, they recount them to their father.
12 And their father saith unto them, `Where `is' this -- the way he hath gone?' and his sons see the way that the man of God hath gone who came from Judah.
13 And he saith unto his sons, `Saddle for me the ass,' and they saddle for him the ass, and he rideth on it,
14 and goeth after the man of God, and findeth him sitting under the oak, and saith unto him, `Art thou the man of God who hast come from Judah?' and he saith, `I `am'.'
15 And he saith unto him, `Come with me to the house, and eat bread.'
16 And he saith, `I am not able to turn back with thee, and to go in with thee, nor do I eat bread or drink with thee water in this place,
17 for a word `is' unto me by the word of Jehovah, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink there water, thou dost not turn back to go in the way in which thou camest.'
18 And he saith to him, `I also `am' a prophet like thee, and a messenger spake unto me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Bring him back with thee unto thy house, and he doth eat bread and drink water;' -- he hath lied to him.
19 And he turneth back with him, and eateth bread in his house, and drinketh water.
20 And it cometh to pass -- they are sitting at the table -- and a word of Jehovah is unto the prophet who brought him back,
21 and he calleth unto the man of God who came from Judah, saying, `Thus said Jehovah, Because that thou hast provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and hast not kept the command that Jehovah thy God charged thee,
22 and turnest back and dost eat bread and drink water in the place of which He said unto thee, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water -- thy carcase cometh not in unto the burying-place of thy fathers.'
23 And it cometh to pass, after his eating bread, and after his drinking, that he saddleth for him the ass, for the prophet whom he had brought back,
24 and he goeth, and a lion findeth him in the way, and putteth him to death, and his carcase is cast in the way, and the ass is standing near it, and the lion is standing near the carcase.
25 And lo, men are passing by, and see the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing near the carcase, and they come and speak `of it' in the city in which the old prophet is dwelling.
26 And the prophet who brought him back out of the way heareth and saith, `It `is' the man of God who provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth him to the lion, and it destroyeth him, and putteth him to death, according to the word of Jehovah that he spake to him.'
27 And he speaketh unto his sons saying, `Saddle for me the ass,' and they saddle `it'.
28 And he goeth and findeth his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion are standing near the carcase -- the lion hath not eaten the carcase nor destroyed the ass.
29 And the prophet taketh up the carcase of the man of God, and placeth it on the ass, and bringeth it back, and the old prophet cometh in unto the city to mourn and to bury him,
30 and he placeth his carcase in his own grave, and they mourn for him, `Oh, my brother!'
31 And it cometh to pass, after his burying him, that he speaketh unto his sons, saying, `At my death -- ye have buried me in the burying-place in which the man of God is buried; near his bones place my bones;
32 for the word certainly cometh to pass that he called by the word of Jehovah concerning the altar which `is' Beth-El, and concerning all the houses of the high places that `are' in cities of Samaria.'
33 After this thing Jeroboam hath not turned from his evil way, and turneth back, and maketh of the extremities of the people priests of high places; he who is desirous he consecrateth his hand, and he is of the priests of the high places.
34 And in this thing is the sin of the house of Jeroboam, even to cut `it' off, and to destroy `it' from off the face of the ground.
1 And behold, there came a man of God from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, to Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee.
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign that Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
4 And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not bring it back again to him.
5 And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah.
6 And the king answered and said to the man of God, Intreat now Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of God intreated Jehovah, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as before.
7 And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a present.
8 And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;
9 for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go.
10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he had come to Bethel.
11 Now there dwelt a certain old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words that he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father.
12 And their father said to them, Which way went he? for his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.
13 And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon,
14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said to him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
15 And he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I cannot return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place.
17 For it was said to me by the word of Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou wentest.
18 And he said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied unto him.
19 Then he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
20 And it came to pass as they sat at the table, that the word of Jehovah came to the prophet that brought him back;
21 and he cried to the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the word of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment that Jehovah thy God commanded thee,
22 but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers.
23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the ass for him, for the prophet that he had brought back;
24 and he departed. And a lion met him by the way and slew him; and his corpse was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse.
25 And behold, men passed by, and saw the corpse cast in the way and the lion standing by the corpse; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26 And the prophet that brought him back from the way heard [of it] and said, It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of Jehovah; therefore Jehovah has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to him.
27 And he spoke to his sons saying, Saddle me the ass; and they saddled it.
28 And he went and found his corpse cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the corpse: the lion had not eaten the corpse, nor torn the ass.
29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and the old prophet came into the city, to mourn and to bury him.
30 And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre; and they mourned over him [saying], Alas, my brother!
31 And it came to pass after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons saying, When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
32 For the word that he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, shall certainly come to pass.
33 After this thing Jeroboam turned not from his evil way, but made again from all classes of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became [one] of the priests of the high places.
34 And by this thing there was sin on the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
1 Behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of Yahweh to Beth El: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
2 He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said, altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall they burn on you.
3 He gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which Yahweh has spoken: Behold, the altar shall be torn, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.
4 It happened, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. His hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to him.
5 The 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 Yahweh.
6 The king answered the man of God, Entreat now the favor of Yahweh your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. The man of God entreated Yahweh, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
7 The king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.
8 The man of God said to 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;
9 for so was it charged me by the word of Yahweh, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.
10 So he went another way, and didn't return by the way that he came to Bethel.
11 Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken to the king, them also they told to their father.
12 Their father said to them, Which way did he go? Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.
13 He said to his sons, Saddle me the donkey. So they saddled him the donkey; and he rode thereon.
14 He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? He said, I am.
15 Then he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 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:
17 for it was said to me by the word of Yahweh, You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came.
18 He said to him, I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. [But] he lied to him.
19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
20 It happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who brought him back;
21 and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have been disobedient to the mouth of Yahweh, and have not kept the commandment which Yahweh your God commanded you,
22 but came back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, Eat no bread, and drink no water; your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.
23 It happened, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the donkey, [to wit], for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 When he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and killed him: and his body was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it; the lion also stood by the body.
25 Behold, men passed by, and saw the body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26 When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient to the mouth of Yahweh: therefore Yahweh has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him, and slain him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke to him.
27 He spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the donkey. They saddled it.
28 He went and found his body cast in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body: the lion had not eaten the body, nor torn the donkey.
29 The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, and to bury him.
30 He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, [saying], Alas, my brother!
31 It happened, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
32 For the saying which he cried by the word of Yahweh against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely happen.
33 After this thing Jeroboam didn't return from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.
34 This thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the surface of the earth.
1 Then a man of God came from Judah by the order of the Lord to Beth-el, where Jeroboam was by the altar, burning offerings.
2 And by the order of the Lord he made an outcry against the altar, saying, O altar, altar, the Lord has said, From the seed of David will come a child, named Josiah, and on you he will put to death the priests of the high places, who are burning offerings on you, and men's bones will be burned on you.
3 The same day he gave them a sign, saying, This is the sign which the Lord has given: See, the altar will be broken and the burned waste on it overturned.
4 Then the king, hearing the man of God crying out against the altar at Beth-el, put out his hand from the altar, saying, Take him prisoner. And his hand, stretched out against him, became dead, and he had no power of pulling it back.
5 And the altar was broken and the burned waste on it overturned; this was the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
6 Then the king made answer and said to the man of God, Make a prayer now for the grace of the Lord your God, and for me, that my hand may be made well. And in answer to the prayer of the man of God, the king's hand was made well again, as it was before.
7 And the king said to the man of God, Come with me to my house for food and rest, and I will give you a reward.
8 But the man of God said to the king, Even if you gave me half of all you have, I would not go in with you, and I would not take food or a drink of water in this place;
9 For so I was ordered by the word of the Lord, who said, You are not to take food or a drink of water, and you are not to go back the way you came.
10 So he went another way, and not by the way he came to Beth-el.
11 Now there was an old prophet living in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and gave him word of all the man of God had done that day in Beth-el, and they gave their father an account of the words he had said to the king.
12 Then their father said to them, Which way did he go? Now his sons had seen which way the man of God who came from Judah had gone.
13 So the prophet said to his sons, Make ready an ass for me. So they made an ass ready, and he got on it,
14 And went after the man of God, and came up with him while he was seated under an oak-tree. And he said to him, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? And he said, I am.
15 Then he said to him, Come back to the house with me and have a meal.
16 But he said, I may not go back with you or go into your house; and I will not take food or a drink of water with you in this place;
17 For the Lord said to me, You are not to take food or water there, or go back again by the way you came.
18 Then he said to him, I am a prophet like you; and an angel said to me by the word of the Lord, Take him back with you and give him food and water. But he said false words to him.
19 So he went back with him, and had a meal in his house and a drink of water.
20 But while they were seated at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had taken him back;
21 And crying out to the man of God who came from Judah, he said, The Lord says, Because you have gone against the voice of the Lord, and have not done as you were ordered by the Lord,
22 But have come back, and have taken food and water in this place where he said you were to take no food or water; your dead body will not be put to rest with your fathers.
23 Now after the meal he made ready the ass for him, for the prophet whom he had taken back.
24 And he went on his way; but on the road a lion came rushing at him and put him to death; and his dead body was stretched in the road with the ass by its side, and the lion was there by the body.
25 And some men, going by, saw the body stretched out in the road with the lion by its side; and they came and gave news of it in the town where the old prophet was living.
26 Then the prophet who had made him come back, hearing it, said, It is the man of God, who went against the word of the Lord; that is why the Lord has given him to the lion to be wounded to death, as the Lord said.
27 And he said to his sons, Make ready the ass for me. And they did so.
28 And he went and saw the dead body stretched out in the road with the ass and the lion by its side: the lion had not taken the body for its food or done any damage to the ass.
29 Then the prophet took up the body of the man of God and put it on the ass and took it back; and he came to the town to put the body to rest with weeping.
30 And he put the body in the resting-place made ready for himself, weeping and sorrowing over it, saying, O my brother!
31 And when he had put it to rest, he said to his sons, When I am dead, then you are to put my body into the earth with the body of this man of God, and put me by his bones so that my bones may be kept safe with his bones.
32 For the outcry he made by the word of the Lord against the altar in Beth-el and against all the houses of the high places in the towns of Samaria, will certainly come about.
33 After this Jeroboam, not turning back from his evil ways, still made priests for his altars from among all the people; he made a priest of anyone desiring it, so that there might be priests of the high places.
34 And this became a sin in the family of Jeroboam, causing it to be cut off and sent to destruction from the face of the earth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 13
Commentary on 1 Kings 13 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
A prophet out of Judah announces to Jeroboam the eventual overthrow of the idolatrous worship, and attests his divine mission by miraculous signs upon the altar at Bethel and the hardened king (1 Kings 13:1-10); but on the way back he allows himself to be enticed by an old prophet out of Bethel to go into his house, contrary to the express command of the Lord, and while sitting at table with him has to hear from his mouth the divine threat, that on account of his transgression of the command of God he will not come into the sepulchre of his fathers. This threat was fulfilled on his way home; and the marvellous fulfilment made so deep an impression upon the old prophet, that he confirmed the testimony which he had given concerning the worship at the high places (vv. 11-32). These marvellous occurrences not only teach how Jeroboam brought about the overthrow of his dynasty by his thorough hardening against the word of God (1 Kings 13:33, 1 Kings 13:34), but they also show how false prophecy rose up from the very beginning in the kingdom of Israel and set itself against the true prophets of the Lord, and how it gained a victory, which merely displayed its own impotence, however, and foreshadowed its eventual and certain overthrow.
1 Kings 13:1-2
Prophecy against the idolatrous worship at Bethel . - 1 Kings 13:1, 1 Kings 13:2. Whilst Jeroboam was still occupied in sacrificing by the altar at Bethel, there came a prophet ( אלהים אישׁ ) out of Judah “in the word of Jehovah” to Bethel, and pronounced upon the altar its eventual destruction. יהוה בּדבר does not mean “at the word of Jehovah” here, as it frequently does, but “in the word of Jehovah,” as 1 Kings 13:9, 1 Kings 13:17 more especially show; so that the word of Jehovah is regarded as a power which comes upon the prophet and drives him to utter the divine revelation which he has received. It is the same in 1 Kings 20:35. להקטיר is to be taken as in 1 Kings 12:33. - “Behold a son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah; he will offer upon thee (O altar) the priests of the high places, who burn incense (i.e., kindle sacrifices) upon thee, and men's bones will they burn upon thee.” According to 2 Kings 23:15-20, this prophecy was literally fulfilled. The older theologians found in this an evident proof of the divine inspiration of the prophets; modern theology, on the other hand, which denies the supernatural inspiration of prophecy in accordance with its rationalistic or naturalistic principles, supplies that this prophecy was not more precisely defined till after the event, and adduces in support of this the apparently just argument, that the prediction of particular historical events is without analogy, and generally that the introduction either of particular persons by name or of definite numbers is opposed to the very essence of prophecy, and turns prediction into soothsaying. The distinction between soothsaying and prediction, however, is not that the latter merely utters general ideas concerning the future, whilst the former announces special occurrences beforehand: but soothsaying is the foretelling of all kinds of accidental things; prophecy, on the contrary, the foretelling of the progressive development of the kingdom of God, not merely in general, but in its several details, according to the circumstances and necessities of each particular age, and that in such a manner that the several concrete details of the prophecy rest upon the general idea of the revelation of salvation, and are thereby entirely removed from the sphere of the accidental. It is true that perfectly concrete predictions of particular events, with the introduction of names and statement of times, are much more rare than the predictions of the progressive development of the kingdom of God according to its general features; but they are not altogether wanting, and we meet with them in every case where it was of importance to set before an ungodly generation in the most impressive manner the truth of the divine threatenings of promises. The allusion to Coresh in Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1, is analogous to the announcement before us. But in both cases the names are closely connected with the destination of the persons in the prophecy, and are simply a concrete description of what God will accomplish through these men. Hence the name יאשׁיּהוּ occurs primarily according to its appellative meaning alone, viz., “he whom Jehovah supports,” from אשׁה , to support, and expresses this thought: there will be born a son to the house of David, whom Jehovah will support of establish, so that he shall execute judgment upon the priests of the high places at Bethel. This prophecy was then afterwards so fulfilled by the special arrangement of God, that the king who executed this judgment bore the name of Joshiyahu as his proper name. And so also כּורשׁ was originally an appellative in the sense of sun. The judgment which the prophet pronounced upon the altar was founded upon the jus talionis . On the very same altar on which the priests offer sacrifice to the עגלים shall they themselves be offered, and the altar shall be defiled for ever by the burning of men's bones upon it. אדם עצמות , “men's bones,” does not stand for “their (the priests') bones,” but is simply an epithet used to designate human corpses, which defile the place where they lie (2 Kings 23:16).
1 Kings 13:3
In confirmation of his word the prophet added a miracle ( מופת , τέρας , portentum , see at Exodus 4:21): “this is the sign that the Lord hath spoken (through me): behold the altar will be rent in pieces, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.” דּשׁן is the ashes of the fat of the sacrificial animals. The pouring out of the sacrificial ashes in consequence of the breaking upon of the altar was a penal sign, which indicated, along with the destruction of the altar, the desecration of the sacrificial service performed upon it.
1 Kings 13:4
The king, enraged at this announcement, stretched out his hand against the prophet with the words, “seize him” - and his hand dried up, so that he was not able to draw it back again. יבשׁ , to dry up, i.e., toe become rigid in consequence of a miraculous withdrawal of the vital energy. Thus Jeroboam experienced in the limbs of his own body the severity of the threatened judgment of God.
1 Kings 13:5-6
The penal miracle announced in the word of Jehovah, i.e., in the strength of the Lord, also took effect immediately upon the altar; and the defiant king was now obliged to entreat the man of God, saying, “Soften, I pray, the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may return to me,” i.e., that I may be able to draw it back again, to move it once more. And this also took place at once at the intercession of the prophet. יי את־פּני חלּה , lit., to stroke the face of God, i.e., to render it soft by intercession (see at Exodus 32:11).
1 Kings 13:7
As Jeroboam could do nothing by force against the prophet, he endeavoured to gain him over to his side by friendliness, that at least he might render his threat harmless in the eyes of the people. For this purpose, and not to do him honour or to make him some acknowledgment for the restoration of his hand, he invited him to his house, to strengthen himself with food ( סעד as in Genesis 18:5; Judges 9:5; for the form סעדה , see Ewald, § 41, c .) and receive from him a present.
1 Kings 13:8-10
But this design was also frustrated, and the rejection of his worship on the part of God was still more strongly declared. “If thou gavest me,” the man of God replied, “the half of thy house, I shall not go in with thee, nor eat bread and drink water in this place; for thus hath Jehovah commanded me,” etc. The subject, Jehovah , is easily supplied to צוּה from the context (vid., Ewald, §294, b .). God had forbidden the prophet to eat and drink “to manifest His detestation of idolatry, and to show by that fact that the Bethelites were so detestable, and as it were excommunicated by God, that He wished none of the faithful to join with them in eating and drinking” (C. a Lap.). He was not to return by the way by which he came, that no one might look out for him, and force him to a delay which was irreconcilable with his commission, or “lest by chance being brought back by Jeroboam, he should do anything to please him which was unworthy of a prophet, or from which it might be inferred that idolaters might hope for some favour from the Deity” (Budd.).
Seduction of the man of God by an old prophet, and his consequent punishment . - 1 Kings 13:11-19. The man of God had resisted the invitations of Jeroboam, and set out by a different road to return to Judah. An old prophet at Bethel heard from his sons what had taken place (the singular בנו יבוא as compared with the plural ויספּרוּם may be explained on the supposition that first of all one son related the matter to his father, and that then the other sons supported the account given by the first); had his ass saddled; hurried after him, and found him sitting under the terebinth (the tree well known from that event); invited him to come into his house and eat with him; and when the latter appealed to the divine prohibition, said to him (1 Kings 13:18), “I am a prophet also as thou art, and an angel has said to me in the word of the Lord: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat and drink,” and lied to him ( לו כּחשׁ without a copula , because it is inserted as it were parenthetically, simply as an explanation) - then he went back with him, and ate and drank in his house.
As they were sitting at table the word of the Lord came to the old prophet, so that he cried out to the man of God from Judah: “Because thou hast been rebellious against the command of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment, ... thou wilt not come to the grave of thy fathers,” i.e., thou wilt meet with a violent death by the way. This utterance was soon fulfilled.
After he had eaten he saddled the ass for him, i.e., for the prophet whom he had fetched back, and the latter (the prophet from Judah) departed upon it. On the road a lion met him and slew him; “and his corpse was cast in the road, but the ass stood by it, and the lion stood by the corpse.” The lion, contrary to its nature, had neither consumed the prophet whom it had slain, nor torn in pieces and devoured the ass upon which he rode, but had remained standing by the corpse and by the ass, that the slaying of the prophet might not be regarded as a misfortune that had befallen him by accident, but that the hand of the Lord might be manifest therein, so that passers-by saw this marvel and related it in Bethel.
When the old prophet at Bethel heard of this, he said, “It is the man of God, who was disobedient to the word of the Lord; the Lord hath delivered him to the lion, so that it hath torn him ( שׁבר , frangere , confringere , used of a lion which tears its prey in pieces) and slain him according to the word of the Lord, which He spake to him.”
He thereupon had his ass saddled, and went and found the corpse and the ass standing by it, without the lion having eaten the corpse or torn the ass in pieces; and he lifted the corpse upon his ass, and brought it into his own city, and laid the corpse in his grave with the customary lamentation: אחו הוי , alas, my brother! (cf., Jeremiah 22:18), and then gave this command to his sons: “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried, let my bones rest beside his bones; for the word which he proclaimed in the word of Jehovah upon the altar at Bethel and upon all the houses of the high places in the cities of Samaria will take place” (i.e., will be fulfilled). The expression “cities of Samaria” belongs to the author of these books, and is used proleptically of the kingdom of the ten tribes, which did not receive this name till after the building of the city of Samaria as the capital of the kingdom and the residence of the kings of Israel (1 Kings 16:24). There is a prophetic element in the words “upon all the houses of the high places,” etc., inasmuch as the only other erection at that time beside the one at Bethel was a temple of the high places at Dan. But after such a beginning the multiplication of them might be foreseen with certainty, even without any higher illumination.
The conduct of the old prophet at Bethel appears so strange, that Josephus and the Chald., and most of the Rabbins and of the earlier commentators both Catholic and Protestant, have regarded him as a false prophet, who tried to lay a trap for the prophet from Judah, in order to counteract the effect of his prophecy upon the king and the people. But this assumption cannot be reconciled with either the divine revelation which came to him at the table, announcing to the Judaean prophet the punishment of his transgression of the commandment of God, and was so speedily fulfilled (1 Kings 13:20-24); or with the honour which he paid to the dead man after this punishment had fallen upon him, by burying him in his own grave; and still less with his confirmation of his declaration concerning the altar at Bethel (1 Kings 13:29-32). We must therefore follow Ephr. Syr., Theodor., Hengstenberg, and others, and regard the old prophet as a true prophet, who with good intentions, and not “under the influence of human envy” (Thenius), but impelled by the desire to enter into a closer relation to the man of God from Judah and to strengthen himself through his prophetic gifts, urged him to enter his house. The fact that he made use of sinful means in order to make more sure of securing the end desired, namely, of the false pretence that he had been directed by an angel to do this, may be explained, as Hengstenberg suggests ( Dissert . vol. ii. p. 149), on the ground that when Jeroboam introduced his innovations, he had sinned by keeping silence, and that the appearance of the Judaean prophet had brought him to a consciousness of this sin, so that he had been seized with shame on account of his fall, and was anxious to restore himself to honour in his own eyes and those of others by intercourse with this witness to the truth. But however little the lie itself can be excused or justified, we must not attribute to him alone the consequences by which the lie was followed in the case of the Judaean prophet. For whilst he chose reprehensible means of accomplishing what appeared to be a good end, namely, to raise himself again by intercourse with a true prophet, and had no wish to injure the other in any way, the Judaean prophet allowed himself to be seduced to a transgression of the clear and definite prohibition of God simply by the sensual desire for bodily invigoration by meat and drink, and had failed to consider that the divine revelation which he had received could not be repealed by a pretended revelation from an angel, because the word of God does not contradict itself. He was therefore obliged to listen to a true revelation from God from the moth of the man whose pretended revelation from an angel he had too carelessly believed, namely, to the announcement of punishment for his disobedience towards the commandment of God, which punishment he immediately afterwards endured, “for the destruction of the flesh, but for the preservation of the spirit: 1 Corinthians 15:5” ( Berleb. Bible ). That the punishment fell upon him alone and not upon the old prophet of Bethel also, and that for apparently a smaller crime, may be accounted for “not so much from the fact that the old prophet had lied with a good intention (this might hold good of the other also), as from the fact that it was needful to deal strictly with the man who had just received a great and holy commission from the Lord” (O. v. Gerlach). It is true that no bodily punishment fell upon the old prophet, but this punishment he received instead, that with his lie he was put to shame, and that his conscience must have accused him of having occasioned the death of the man of God from Judah. He was thereby to be cured of his weakness, that he might give honour to the truth of the testimony of God. “Thus did the wondrous providence of God know how to direct all things most gloriously, so that the bodily destruction of the one contributed to the spiritual and eternal preservation of the soul of the other” ( Berleb. Bible ). - Concerning the design of these marvellous events, H. Witsius has the following remarks in his Miscell. ss . i. p. 118 (ed. nov. 1736): “So many wondrous events all occurring in one result caused the prophecy against the altar at Bethel to be preserved in the mouths and memories of all, and the mission of this prophet to become far more illustrious. Thus, although the falsehood of the old man of Bethel brought disgrace upon himself, it injured no one but the man of God whose credulity was too great; and, under the overruling providence of God, it contributed in the most signal manner to the confirmation and publication of the truth.”
(Note: Compare with this the remark of Theodoret in his quaest . 43 in 3 libr. Reb .: “ In my opinion this punishment served to confirm the declaration concerning the altar. For it was not possible for the statement of such a man to be concealed: and this was sufficient to fill with terror those who heard it; for if partaking of food contrary to the command of God, and that not of his own accord, but under a deception, brought such retribution upon a righteous man, to what punishments would they be exposed who had forsaken the God who made them, and worshipped the likenesses of irrational creatures? ” )
The heaping up of the marvellous corresponded to the great object of the mission of the man of God out of Judah, through which the Lord would enter an energetic protest against the idolatrous worship of Jeroboam at its first introduction, to guard those who feared God in Israel, of whom there were not a few (2 Chronicles 11:16; 2 Kings 18:3; 2 Kings 19:18), from falling away from Him by joining in the worship of the calves, and to take away every excuse from the ungodly who participated therein.
But this did not lead Jeroboam to conversion. He turned not from his evil way, but continued to make high priests from the mass of the people. ויּעשׂ ויּשׁב , “he returned and made,” i.e., he made again or continued to make. For the fact itself compare 1 Kings 12:31. “Whoever had pleasure ( החפץ , cf., Ges. § 109), he filled his hand, that he might become a priest of the high places.” מלּא את־ידו , to fill the hand, is the technical expression for investing with the priesthood, according to the rite prescribed for the consecration of the priests, namely, to place sacrificial gifts in the hands of the persons to be consecrated (see at Leviticus 7:37 and Leviticus 8:25.). The plural בּמות כּהני is used with indefinite generality: that he might be ranked among the priests of high places.
1 Kings 13:34
“And it became in (with) this thing the sin of the house of Jeroboam, and the destroying and cutting off from the earth;” that is to say, this obstinate persistence in ungodly conduct was the guilt which had as its natural consequence the destroying of his house from the face of the earth. הזּה בּדּבר is not a mistake for הזּה הדּבר , but בּ is used, as in 1 Chronicles 9:33; 1 Chronicles 7:23, to express the idea of being and persisting in a thing (for this use of בּ compare Ewald, §295 , f.).