1 Kings 13

And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

1A man of God came from Judah to a town called Bethel. God had sent him there. King Jeroboam was standing by the altar, burning incense.

NoteIncense is a spice that makes sweet smoke when it burns. People burned it as a gift to God.

2And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.

2The man shouted at the altar the words God gave him. He said, "Altar, altar, listen to what God says. A boy named Josiah will be born in King David's family. He will put the priests of these hilltop worship places on you. He will burn people's bones on you."

Note"High places" were hilltop spots where people built altars and worshiped. This altar in Bethel was one Jeroboam built instead of the one in Jerusalem.

3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

3That same day the man gave a sign to prove it. He said, "God says this will happen. The altar will split open. The ashes on it will spill out."

4And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

4King Jeroboam heard the man shout against the altar. He pointed his hand at him and said, "Grab that man!" But his hand dried up and went stiff. He could not pull it back.

5The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

5Then the altar split open. The ashes spilled out, just as the man of God had said.

6And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

6The king said to the man of God, "Please ask your God to help me. Pray that my hand will be well again." The man prayed to God. The king's hand became well, just like before.

7And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

7Then the king said, "Come home with me and eat. I will give you a gift."

8And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

8The man of God said, "Even if you gave me half of all you own, I would not come. I will not eat bread or drink water here.

9For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

9God told me not to eat bread or drink water here. He also said not to go home the same way I came."

10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

10So the man went home a different way. He did not use the road he took to Bethel.

11Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.

11An old prophet lived in Bethel. A prophet is someone who tells people what God says. His sons came and told him what the man of God had done that day. They also told him what the man had said to the king.

12And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

12Their father asked, "Which way did he go?" His sons showed him the road the man of God took back toward Judah.

13And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,

13The old prophet said to his sons, "Get my donkey ready." They put a saddle on it, and he climbed on.

14And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

14He rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree. He asked, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" The man said, "I am."

15Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

15Then the old prophet said, "Come home with me and have some bread."

16And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

16The man said, "I cannot go back with you. I cannot go into your house. I will not eat bread or drink water with you here.

17For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

17God told me not to eat bread or drink water there. He also said not to go home the way I came."

18He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

18The old prophet said, "I am a prophet too, just like you. An angel gave me a message from God. He said to bring you to my house to eat and drink." But the old prophet was lying.

19So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

19So the man of God went back with him. He ate bread in his house and drank water.

20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:

20While they were sitting at the table, God spoke. He gave a message to the old prophet who had brought the man back.

21And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,

21The old prophet called out to the man of God from Judah. He said, "God says this. You did not obey what God told you.

22But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

22You came back here. You ate bread and drank water where God told you not to. So your body will not be buried in your family's grave."

NoteThe KJV word "carcase" simply means a dead body. Being buried with your family was a great honor back then.

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

23After the man of God finished eating and drinking, the old prophet got the donkey ready for him.

24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

24As the man rode away, a lion met him on the road and killed him. His body lay in the road. The donkey stood beside it, and so did the lion.

25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

25Some men walked by and saw the body in the road. They saw the lion standing next to it. They went and told the news in the town where the old prophet lived.

26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.

26The old prophet who had brought him back heard about it. He said, "That is the man of God. He did not obey what God said. So God let the lion attack him and kill him, just as God had warned him."

27And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.

27Then he said to his sons, "Get my donkey ready." So they did.

28And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.

28He rode out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and the lion were still standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or hurt the donkey.

29And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.

29The old prophet lifted the body of the man of God onto the donkey. He carried it back to his own town to cry for him and bury him.

30And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!

30He put the body in his own grave. They cried over him and said, "Oh, my brother!"

31And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:

31After the burial he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in that same grave. Lay my bones next to his bones.

32For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

32The words he shouted from God will surely come true. He spoke against the altar in Bethel. He also spoke against all the hilltop worship places in the towns of Samaria."

33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.

33Even after all this, Jeroboam did not stop doing wrong. He kept picking priests for the hilltop places from all kinds of people. Anyone who wanted the job could have it.

34And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

34This wrong was the sin of Jeroboam's family. Because of it, his family was wiped off the earth.