| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Just then a prophet from Judah, sent by the LORD, arrived in Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. | 1At the LORD’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. |
| 2With the authority of the LORD he cried out against the altar, "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says, 'Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.'" | 2Then at the LORD’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.” |
| 3That day he also announced a sign, "This is the sign the LORD has predetermined: The altar will be split open and the ashes on it will fall to the ground." | 3That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The LORD has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.” |
| 4When the king heard what the prophet cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand and ordered, "Seize him!" The hand he had extended shriveled up and he could not pull it back. | 4When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. |
| 5The altar split open and the ashes fell from the altar to the ground, in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the LORD's authority. | 5At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD. |
| 6The king pled with the prophet, "Seek the favor of the LORD your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored." So the prophet sought the LORD's favor and the king's hand was restored to its former condition. | 6The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the LORD your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again. |
| 7The king then said to the prophet, "Come home with me and have something to eat. I'd like to give a present." | 7Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.” |
| 8But the prophet said to the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I could not go with you and eat and drink in this place. | 8But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. |
| 9For the LORD gave me strict orders, 'Do not eat or drink there and do not go home the way you came.'" | 9For the LORD gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” |
| 10So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel. | 10So he left Bethel and went home another way. |
| 11Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. When his sons came home, they told their father everything the prophet had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king. | 11As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. |
| 12Their father asked them, "Which road did he take?" His sons showed him the road the prophet from Judah had taken. | 12The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they showed their father which road the man of God had taken. |
| 13He then told his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it | 13“Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it. |
| 14and took off after the prophet, whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, "Are you the prophet from Judah?" He answered, "Yes, I am." | 14Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “Yes, I am,” he replied. |
| 15He then said to him, "Come home with me and eat something." | 15Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.” |
| 16But he replied, "I can't go back with you or eat and drink with you in this place. | 16“No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. |
| 17For the LORD gave me strict orders, 'Do not eat or drink there; do not go back the way you came.'" | 17For the LORD gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” |
| 18The old prophet then said, "I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the LORD's authority, 'Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.'" But he was lying to him. | 18But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the LORD: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. |
| 19So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house. | 19So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home. |
| 20While they were sitting at the table, the LORD spoke through the old prophet | 20Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the LORD came to the old prophet. |
| 21and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, "This is what the LORD says, 'You have rebelled against the LORD and have not obeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. | 21He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: You have defied the word of the LORD and have disobeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. |
| 22You went back and ate and drank in this place, even though he said to you, "Do not eat or drink there." Therefore your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.'" | 22You came back to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.” |
| 23When the prophet from Judah finished his meal, the old prophet saddled his visitor's donkey for him. | 23After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, |
| 24As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it. | 24and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. |
| 25Some men came by and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it. They went and reported what they had seen in the city where the old prophet lived. | 25People who passed by saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived. |
| 26When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news, he said, "It is the prophet who rebelled against the LORD. The LORD delivered him over to the lion and it ripped him up and killed him, just as the LORD warned him." | 26When the prophet heard the report, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD’s command. The LORD has fulfilled his word by causing the lion to attack and kill him.” |
| 27He told his sons, "Saddle my donkey," and they did so. | 27Then the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled a donkey, |
| 28He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it; the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. | 28and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. |
| 29The old prophet picked up the corpse of the prophet, put it on the donkey, and brought it back. The old prophet then entered the city to mourn him and to bury him. | 29So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the town to mourn over him and bury him. |
| 30He put the corpse into his own tomb, and they mourned over him, saying, "Ah, my brother!" | 30He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, “Oh, my brother!” |
| 31After he buried him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet is buried; put my bones right beside his bones, | 31Afterward the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. |
| 32for the prophecy he announced with the LORD's authority against the altar in Bethel and against all the temples on the high places in the cities of the north will certainly be fulfilled." | 32For the message the LORD told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.” |
| 33After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways; he continued to appoint common people as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest. | 33But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the common people. He appointed anyone who wanted to become a priest for the pagan shrines. |
| 34This sin caused Jeroboam's dynasty to come to an end and to be destroyed from the face of the earth. | 34This became a great sin and resulted in the utter destruction of Jeroboam’s dynasty from the face of the earth. |
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