1And see, a man of Elohim went from Yehuḏah to Bĕyth Ěl by the word of יהוה, while Yaroḇ‛am was standing by the altar to burn incense.

2And he cried out against the altar by the word of יהוה, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus said יהוה, ‘See, a son is to be born to the house of Dawiḏ, Yoshiyahu is his name. And on you he shall offer the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones be burned on you.’ ”

3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which יהוה has spoken: See, the altar is split apart, and the ashes on it is poured out.”

4And it came to be when Sovereign Yaroḇ‛am heard the saying of the man of Elohim, who cried out against the altar in Bĕyth Ěl, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, dried up, so that he was unable to bring it back to him.

5And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of Elohim had given by the word of יהוה.

6And the sovereign answered and said to the man of Elohim, “Please appease the face of יהוה your Elohim, and pray for me, that my hand might be restored to me.” And the man of Elohim appeased the face of יהוה, and the sovereign’s hand was restored to him, and became as it was before.

7The sovereign then said to the man of Elohim, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I give you a gift.”

8But the man of Elohim said to the sovereign, “If you were to give me half your house, I do not go in with you, nor do I eat bread nor drink water in this place.

9“For so He commanded me by the word of יהוה, saying, ‘Do not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ ”

10So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bĕyth Ěl.

11And a certain old prophet was dwelling in Bĕyth Ěl, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of Elohim had done that day in Bĕyth Ěl, the words which he had spoken to the sovereign.

12And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons had seen which way the man of Elohim went who came from Yehuḏah.

13And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled the donkey for him, and he rode on it,

14and went after the man of Elohim, and found him sitting under a terebinth. And he said to him, “Are you the man of Elohim who came from Yehuḏah?” And he said, “I am.”

15And he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”

16And he said, “I am not able to return with you or to go in with you, nor am I to eat bread or drink water with you in this place.

17“For word came to me by the word of יהוה, ‘Do not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’ ”

18And he said to him, “I too am a prophet like you, and a messenger spoke to me by the word of יהוה, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, and let him eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he lied to him.

19So he turned back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

20And it came to be, as they sat at the table, that the word of יהוה came to the prophet who had brought him back,

21and he cried out to the man of Elohim who came from Yehuḏah, saying, “Thus said יהוה, ‘Because you have rebelled against the mouth of יהוה, and have not guarded the command which יהוה your Elohim commanded you,

22and turned back, and ate bread, and drank water in the place of which He said to you, “Do not eat bread nor drink water,” your body shall not enter the burying-place of your fathers.’ ”

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

24And he went, and a lion met him on the way and killed him. And his body was thrown on the way. And the donkey was standing by it, and the lion was standing by the body.

25And see, men were passing by and saw the body thrown on the way, while the lion was standing by the body. And they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26And the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, and said, “It is the man of Elohim who rebelled against the mouth of יהוה, and יהוה gave him to the lion, and it tore him apart and killed him, according to the word of יהוה which He spoke to him.”

27And he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it.

28So he went and found his body thrown on the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body nor mauled the donkey.

29And the prophet lifted up the body of the man of Elohim, and placed it on the donkey, and brought it back. And the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him,

30and he placed his body in his own tomb. And they lamented over him, saying, “Oh, my brother!”

31And it came to be, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then you shall bury me in the tomb where the man of Elohim is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones.

32“For the word which he cried out, by the word of יהוה, against the altar in Bĕyth Ěl, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Shomeron, shall certainly come to be.”

33After this event Yaroḇ‛am did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from all sorts of people for the high places. Whoever wished, he ordained, to become one of the priests of the high places.

34And this matter was the sin of the house of Yaroḇ‛am, even to cut it off and destroy it from the face of the earth.