I Kings 13

¹And lo! a man of God cam fro Juda, bi the word of the Lord, in to Bethel, while Jeroboam stood on the auter, `and castide encence.

²And `the man of God criede ayens the auter, bi the word of the Lord, and seide, Auter! auter! the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! a sone, Josias by name, shal be borun to the hows of Dauid; and he schal offre on thee the preestis of hiye thingis, that brennen now encensis yn thee, and he schal brenne the bonys of men on thee.

³And he yaf a signe in that dai, `and seide, This schal be `the signe that the Lord spak, Lo! the auter schal be kit, and the aische which is `there ynne, schal be sched out.

⁴And whanne the kyng hadde herd the word of the man of God, which word he hadde cried ayens the auter in Bethel, the kyng helde forth his hond fro the auter, and seide, Take ye hym. And his hond driede, which he hadde holde forth, and he myyte not drawe it ayen to hym silf.

⁵Also the auter was kit, and the aische was sched out of the auter, bi the signe which the man of God bifor seide, in the word of the Lord.

⁶And the kyng seide to the man of God, Biseche thou the face of thi Lord God, and preie thou for me, that myn hond be restorid to me. And the man of God preiede the face of God; and the hond of the king turnede ayen to hym, and it was maad as it was bifore.

⁷Sotheli the kyng spak to the man of God, Come thou hoom with me, that thou ete, and Y schal yyue yiftis to thee.

⁸And the man of God seide to the kyng, Thouy thou schalt yyue to me the half part of thin hows, Y schal not come with thee, nether Y schal ete breed, nether Y schal drynke watir in this place;

⁹`for so it is comaundid to me bi the word of the Lord, comaundinge, Thou schalt not ete breed, nether thou schalt drynke water, nether thou schalt turne ayen bi the weie bi which thou camest.

¹⁰Therfor he yede bi another weie, and turnede not ayen bi the weie, bi which he cam in to Bethel.

¹¹Forsothe sum elde profete dwellide in Bethel, to whom hise sones camen, and telden to hym alle the werkis whiche the man of God hadde do in that dai in Bethel; and thei telden to her fader the wordis whiche he spak to the kyng.

¹²And the fadir of hem seide to hem, Bi what weie yede he? Hise sones schewiden to hym the weie, bi which the man of God yede, that cam fro Juda.

¹³And he seide to hise sones, Sadle ye an asse to me. And whanne thei hadden sadlid,

¹⁴he stiede, and yede after the man of God, and foond hym sittyng vndur a terebynte. And he seide to the man of God, Whether thou art the man of God, that camest fro Juda? He answeride, Y am.

¹⁵And he seide to hym, Come thou with me hoom, that thou ete breed.

¹⁶And he seide, Y may not turne ayen, nether come with thee, nether Y schal ete breed, nether Y schal drynke water in this place;

¹⁷for the Lord spak to me in the word of the Lord, and seide, Thou schalt not ete breed, and thou schalt not drynke water there, nether thou schalt turne ayen bi the weie bi which thou yedist.

¹⁸Which seide to hym, And Y am a profete lijk thee; and an aungel spak to me bi the word of the Lord, and seide, Lede ayen hym in to thin hows, that he ete breed, and drynke watir. He disseyuede the man of God,

¹⁹and brouyte him ayen with hym. Therfor he ete breed in his hows, and drank watir.

²⁰And whanne he sat at the table, the word of the Lord was maad to the prophete that brouyte hym ayen;

²¹and he criede to the man of God that cam fro Juda, and seide, The Lord seith these thingis, For thou obeidist not to the mouth of the Lord, and keptist not the comaundement which thi Lord God comaundide to thee,

²²and thou turnedist ayen, and etist breed, and drankist watir in the place in which Y comaundide to thee, that thou schuldist not ete breed, nether schuldist drynke watir, thi deed bodi schal not be borun in to the sepulcre of thi fadris.

²³And whanne he hadde ete and drunke, the prophete, whom he hadde brouyt ayen, sadlide his asse.

²⁴And whanne he hadde go, a lioun foond hym in the weye, and killide hym. And his deed bodi was cast forth in the weie; sotheli the asse stood bisydis hym, and the lioun stood bisidis the deed bodi.

²⁵And lo! men passynge sien the deed bodi cast forth in the weye, and the lyoun stondynge bisidis the deed bodi; and thei camen, and pupplischiden in the citee, in which thilke eeld prophete dwellide.

²⁶And whanne thilke prophete, that brouyte hym ayen fro the weye, hadde herd this, he seide, It is the man of God, that was vnobedient to the mouth of God; and the Lord bitook hym to the lioun, that brak hym, and killide hym, bi the word of the Lord which he spak to hym.

²⁷And he seide to hise sones, Sadle ye an asse to me.

²⁸And whanne thei hadden sadlid, and he hadde go, he foond his deed bodi cast forth in the weie, and the asse and the lioun stondinge bisidis the deed bodi; and the lioun eet not the deed bodi, nether hirtide the asse.

²⁹Therfor the profete took the deed bodi of the man of God, and puttide it on the asse; and he turnede ayen, and brouyte it in to the cyte of the eeld prophete, that he schulde biweile hym.

³⁰And he puttide his deed bodi in his sepulcre, and thei biweiliden him, Alas! alas! my brother!

³¹And whanne thei hadden biweilid hym, he seide to hise sones, Whanne Y schal be deed, birie ye me in the sepulcre, in which the man of God is biried; putte ye my bonys bisidis hise bonys.

³²For sotheli the word schal come, which he bifor seide in the word of the Lord, ayens the auter which is in Bethel, and ayens alle the templis of hiy placis, that ben in the citees of Samarie. After these wordis Jeroboam turnede not ayen fro his werste weie, but ayenward of the laste puplis he made preestis of hiye places; who euer wolde, fillide his hond, and he was maad preest of hiy placis.

³³And for this cause the hows of Jeroboam synnede, and it was distried, and doon awey fro the face of erthe.

I Kings 13

¹And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth–el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

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.

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.

⁴And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth–el, 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.

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.

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.

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

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:

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

¹⁹So he went back with him, and did eat 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:

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,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.