Jeroboam’s Hand Withers
(2 Kings 23:4–20; 2 Chronicles 34:3–7)

1And beholde, there came a ma of God from Iuda (thorow the worde of the LORDE) vnto Bethel, and Ieroboam stode by the altar to burne incense. 2And he cried agaynst the altare thorow the worde of the LORDE, and sayde: O altar, altar, thus sayeth the LORDE: Beholde, there shal be borne vnto ye house of Dauid a sonne, Iosias by name which on the shal offer the prestes of the hye places, that burne incense vpon the, and mens bones shal he burne on the. 3And he gaue a wonder token the same daye, and sayde: This is the token, that the LORDE hath spoken it, beholde, the altar shall ryue, and the asshes, that are theron, shall be poured out. 4But whan the kynge herde the worde of the man of God, that cried agaynst the altare at Bethel, he stretched out his hande by ye altare, and sayde: Laye hondes on him. And his hande that he stretched out, wythered, and he coulde not drawe it vnto him agayne. 5And ye altare roue, and the asshes were poured out from the altare, acordinge to the wonder token that the man of God had geuen by the worde of the LORDE. 6And the kynge answered, and sayde vnto the man of God: O praye the face of the LORDE thy God, and make intercession for me, that my hande maie be restored vnto me agayne. Then prayed the man of God vnto the face of the LORDE. And the kynges hande was restored him agayne, and became as it was afore. 7And the kynge sayde vnto the man of God: Come home with me, and dyne, and I wil geue the a rewarde. 8But the man of God sayde vnto the kynge: Yf thou geuest me halfe thy house, I wil not come with the: for in this place wyll I nether eate bred, ner drynke water. 9For thus am I commaunded, and thus is it sayde vnto me by the worde of the LORDE: Thou shalt eate no bred, and drynke no water, nether returne the waye that thou wentest. 10And he departed another waye, and returned not agayne the waye that he came to Bethel.

The Old Prophet and the Man of God

11But at Bethel there dwelt an olde prophet vnto who his sonnes came, & tolde him all the workes yt the ma of God had done that daye at Bethel, & the wordes that he had spoken vnto the kynge. 12And their father sayde vnto them: Which waye is he gone? And his sonnes shewed him the waye that the man of God was gone: which came from Iuda. 13He sayde vnto his sonnes: Saddell me the asse. And wha they had sadled him the asse, he rode theron, 14and wente after the man of God, and founde him syttinge vnder an Oke tre, and sayde vnto him: Art thou the man of God that came from Iuda? He sayde: Yee. 15He sayde vnto him: Come home with me, and eate bred. 16He sayde: I maye not turne backe with the, and come with the. Nether wyll I eate bred, ner drynke water with the in this place: 17for it is spoken vnto me by the worde of the LORDE: Thou shalt nether eate bred there, ner yet drynke water, nether shalt thou go agayne by the waye which thou wentest. 18He sayde vnto him: I myselfe am a prophet as well as thou, and an angell hath spoken with me by ye worde of the LORDE, and saide: Bringe him againe with the, that he maye eate bred, and drynke water. But he lyed vnto him, 19and broughte him agayne, so that he ate bred, and dranke water in his house.

20And whan they sat at the table, the worde of the LORDE came to the prophet that had broughte him agayne, 21and cryed vnto the man which was come fro Iuda, and sayde: Thus sayeth the LORDE: Because thou hast bene dishobedient vnto the mouth of ye LORDE, and hast not kepte the commaundement that the LORDE thy God commaunded the, 22but hast turned backe, and hast eaten bred, and dronke water in ye place, wherof he saide vnto the: Thou shalt nether eate bred ner drynke water, therfore shall not thy body come in to thy fathers graue. 23And whan he had eaten bred and dronke the asse was sadled vnto the prophet whom he had brought agayne. 24And wha he was gone, a lyon founde him by the waye, & slewe him, and his body was cast in ye waye. And the asse stode by him, and the lyon stode by the body. 25And wha men wente by, they sawe the body cast in the waye, and the lyon stondynge besyde the body, and came and tolde it in the cite, where the olde prophet dwelt.

26Whan the prophet which had broughte him agayne, herde that, he sayde: It is the man of God, that hath bene dishobediet vn the mouth of the LORDE, therfore hath ye LORDE delyuered him vnto the Lyon, which hath rente him, and slayne him, acordynge to the worde that the LORDE spake vnto him. 27And he sayde vnto his sonnes: Saddell me the asse. And whan they had sadled it, 28he wente, and founde his body cast in the waie and the asse and the lyon stondynge beside ye body. The lyon had eate nothinge of the body, nether had he torne the asse. 29Then toke the prophet the deed coarse of the man of God, and layed it vpo the asse, and broughte it agayne in to the cite of the olde prophet, to mourne, and to burye him. 30And he layed the coarse in his awne graue, and they mourned for him: Alas my brother. 31And whan they had buryed him, he saide vnto his sonnes: Whan I dye, burye me in the graue where the ma of God is buried, and laye my bones besyde his bones. 32For it shal come to passe, that he cried (thorow the worde of the LORDE) against Bethel, and agaynst all ye houses of the hye places, which are in the cities of Samaria.

33Howbeit after this acte dyd not Ieroboa turne from his euell waye, but was peruerted, and made prestes of the hye places, eue of the smallest of the people: Loke whom it pleased him, his handes he fylled, & he was prest of the hye places. 34And this turned to synne vnto the house of Ieroboa, to destroye him and to brynge him to naughte.