Melachim I - Chapter 13

1. And behold a man of God came from Judah, at the command of the Lord, to Beth El, and Jeroboam was standing on the altar offering sacrifices.

2. And he called [in prophecy] about the altar at the command of the Lord, and he said: "Altar, altar, so said the Lord, "Behold a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah will be his name, and upon you he will slaughter all the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you, and human bones will they burn upon you."

3. And he gave a sign on that day saying: "This is the sign that the Lord has spoken." Behold the altar shall be split and the ashes that are upon it shall be spilled."

4. And it was, when the king heard the words of the man of God, which he proclaimed concerning the altar in Beth El, that Jeroboam stretched out his hand from over the altar saying: "Seize him!" And his hand that he had stretched out against him became stiff, and he could not draw his hand back to himself.

5. And the altar split, and the ashes fell from the altar in accordance with the sign that the man of God gave by the word of God.

6. And the King responded and said to the man of God: "Entreat now the Lord your God and pray for me, that my hand be drawn back to me." And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was drawn back to him, and it was as before.

7. The king spoke to the Man of God, "Come with me to my home and dine with me, and I shall give you a gift."

8. The Man of God said to the king; "If you give me one half of your house, I will not come with you, and I will neither eat bread nor will I drink water in this place.

9. For so has he commanded me by the words of the Lord saying, 'You shall not eat bread nor drink water, neither shall you return by the road by which you have come.' "

10. And he went by another road and he did not return by the way through which he had entered Beth El.

11. And an elderly prophet was sojourning in Beth El, and his son came to him and related to him all the deed that the man of God had performed that day in Beth El, and the words that he had spoken to the king; they related them to their father.

12. And their father spoke to them: "By which road did he go?" And his sons showed him the road by which the Man of God who had come from Judah, had departed.

13. And he said to his sons: "Saddle for me a donkey," and they saddled a donkey for him, and he rode on it.

14. And he went after the Man of God and he found him sitting under a terebrinth, and he spoke to him: "Are you the Man of God who came from Judah?" And he replied: "I am he."

15. And he said to him, "Come with me to my home and eat bread."

16. And he said: "I cannot return with you and come with you, and I shall not eat bread or drink water in this place.

17. For a message [came] to me at the command of the Lord: You shall not eat bread and you shall not drink water there. 'You shall not return to go by the road with which you arrived.' "

18. And he said to him, "I, too, am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the command of the Lord, saying: "Bring him back to your house, and he shall eat bread and drink water.' "-He lied to him.

19. And he returned with him, and he ate bread in his house and he drank water.

20. As they were sitting at the table and the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.

21. And He called to the Man of God who had come from Judah, saying, "Thus said the Lord, "Because you have rebelled against the word of the Lord, and you did not keep the commandments that the Lord your God commanded you.

22. And you returned and ate bread and drank water in the place concerning which He spoke to you [saying], 'You shall not eat bread nor drink water,' your corpse shall not come to the grave of your forefathers."

23. And it was after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.

24. He went [on his way] and a lion found him and killed him, and his corpse was thrown in the road. The donkey was standing next to it, and the lion was standing next to the corpse.

25. And here men were passing, and they saw the corpse thrown in the road, and the lion standing next to the corpse; they came and spoke in the city, wherein the old prophet was residing.

26. And the prophet that had brought him back from the way, heard and he said, "It is a Man of God who rebelled against the command of the Lord, and the Lord has given him to the lion. The lion has torn him asunder and killed him, true to the word of the Lord that He had spoken concerning him."

27. He spoke to his sons saying, "Saddle the donkey for me," and they saddled it.

28. And he went. He discovered his corpse thrown in the road with the donkey and the lion standing next to the corpse; the lion had not eaten the corpse neither had it torn the donkey asunder.

29. The prophet carried the corpse of the Man of God, and he placed it on his donkey and brought it back, and he came to the old prophet's city, to eulogize him and bury him.

30. He placed the corpse in his grave and they eulogized him, "Alas my brother!"

31. And it was after he had buried him, that he said to his children saying, "At my death you shall bury me in the grave wherein the Man of God is buried; next to his bones, place my bones."

32. For the thing that he called out by the word of the Lord, will come to be about the altar that is in Beth El; as about all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria.

33. After this thing Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but he continued and made of some of the people priests of the high places. Anyone who wished would initiate himself and become [one of] the priests of the high places.

34. And because of this matter, was the iniquity of the house of Jeroboam; and to cut it off and destroy it from the face of the earth.