1 Kings 13

All 34 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1A man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2. 2The man of God cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: "Altar! Altar! This is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born into the house of David. On this altar he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense here, and human bones will be burned on you.'"
3. 3That same day, he gave a sign, saying, "This is the sign the LORD has spoken: Look, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out."
4. 4When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God shouted against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and ordered, 'Seize him!' But the hand he stretched out dried up, and he could not pull it back.
5. 5The altar was also split, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
6. 6The king answered the man of God, "Please seek favor from the LORD your God, and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me again." The man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him again and became as it was before.
7. 7Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me. Have a meal and rest, and I'll give you a gift."
8. 8But the man of God told the king, "Even if you gave me half your house, I wouldn't go with you. I won't eat bread or drink water in this place,
9. 9because the LORD commanded me, saying, 'Do not eat bread, do not drink water, and do not return by the same way you came.'
10. 10So he left by a different road and didn't return the way he had come to Bethel.
11. 11Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. His sons came and told him everything the man of God had done that day in Bethel, including every word he had spoken to the king.
12. 12Their father asked them, "Which road did he take?" His sons had watched which direction the man of God from Judah had gone.
13. 13He told his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." They saddled it, and he climbed on and rode off.
14. 14He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He asked, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" The man answered, "I am."
15. 15The old prophet said, "Come home with me and have something to eat."
16. 16But the man of God replied, "I can't go back with you or come to your house. I won't eat food or drink water with you here,
17. 17because the word of the LORD said to me: 'You must not eat bread or drink water there, nor return by the road you came.'
18. 18The old prophet said, "I'm a prophet too, just like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD and said, 'Bring him back to your house so he can eat and drink.'" But he was lying to him.
19. 19So the man of God went back with him, ate bread at his house, and drank water.
20. 20While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back.
21. 21He cried out to the man of God from Judah, saying, 'This is what the LORD says: Because you have disobeyed the mouth of the LORD and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,
22. 22But you came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where the LORD told you, 'Do not eat bread or drink water.' Because of this, your body will not be buried in your family's tomb.
23. 23After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him — the prophet he had brought back.
24. 24As the man of God traveled down the road, a lion met him and killed him. His body lay on the road with the donkey standing beside it, and the lion standing beside the body.
25. 25Some people passing by saw the body lying on the road with the lion standing next to it. They went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26. 26When the old prophet who had brought him back heard the news, he said, "That's the man of God who disobeyed the LORD's command. The LORD handed him over to the lion, which mauled and killed him, according to the word of the LORD that He spoke to him."
27. 27He told his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me," and they did.
28. 28He went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion still standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey.
29. 29The old prophet lifted the body of the man of God onto the donkey and brought it back to his own city to mourn over him and bury him.
30. 30He placed the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, 'Alas, my brother!'
31. 31After the burial, the old prophet told his sons, "When I die, bury me in the same tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones right beside his bones.
32. 32For the message he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places in the cities of Samaria, will surely come to pass.
33. 33Even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way. Instead, he again appointed priests for the high places from the lowest of the people. Anyone who wanted to be a priest, he consecrated, and they became priests of the high places.
34. 34This thing became a sin for the house of Jeroboam, even causing it to be cut off and destroyed from the face of the earth.