1
And see, an ish of Elohim came from Yehudah by the Word of Yahuah to Beit-El, while Yarovam was standing beside the altar to burn incense.
2
And he called out against the altar by the Word of Yahuah and said: “Altar, altar, thus says Yahuah: ‘See, a son shall be born to the House of Daviyd, Yoshiyahu by name, and upon you he shall sacrifice the kohenim of the high places who burn incense upon you, and bones of Adam shall be burned upon you.’”
3
And he gave a sign on that day, saying: “This is the sign that Yahuah has spoken: See, the altar shall be torn apart, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.”
4
And it came to pass, when King Yarovam heard the word of the ish of Elohim who called out against the altar in Beit-El, that he stretched out his hand from upon the altar, saying: “Seize him!” And his hand that he stretched out against him dried up, and he was not able to draw it back to himself.
5
And the altar was torn apart, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the ish of Elohim had given by the Word of Yahuah.
6
And the king answered and said to the ish of Elohim: “Please soften the face of Yahuah your Elohim and pray for me, that my hand may be returned to me.” And the ish of Elohim softened the face of Yahuah, and the hand of the king returned to him and became as at the first.
7
And the king said to the ish of Elohim: “Come with me to the house and refresh yourself, and I will give you a gift.”
8
And the ish of Elohim said to the king: “If you give me half your House, I will not go in with you, and I will not eat bread and I will not drink water in this place.
9
For thus He commanded me by the Word of Yahuah, saying: ‘You shall not eat bread, and you shall not drink water, and you shall not return by the way that you came.’”
10
And he went by another way and did not return by the way that he had come to Beit-El.
11
And there dwelt an old prophet in Beit-El. And his sons came and recounted to him all the work that the ish of Elohim had done that day in Beit-El, and the words that he had spoken to the king; and they recounted them to their father.
12
And their father said to them: “Which way did he go?” And his sons had seen the way that the ish of Elohim who came from Yehudah had gone.
13
And he said to his sons: “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled the donkey for him, and he rode upon it.
14
And he went after the ish of Elohim and found him sitting beneath the terebinth. And he said to him: “Are you the ish of Elohim who came from Yehudah?” And he said: “I am.”
15
And he said to him: “Come with me to the house and eat bread.”
16
And he said: “I am not able to return with you or go in with you, and I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place.
17
For it was spoken to me by the Word of Yahuah: ‘You shall not eat bread there and you shall not drink water, and you shall not return to go by the way that you came.’”
18
And he said to him: “I also am a prophet like you, and a messenger spoke to me by the Word of Yahuah, saying: ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him.
19
And he returned with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.
20
And it came to pass, while they were sitting at the table, that the Word of Yahuah came to the prophet who had brought him back.
21
And he called out to the ish of Elohim who had come from Yehudah, saying: “Thus says Yahuah: ‘Because you rebelled against the Mouth of Yahuah and did not guard the commandment that Yahuah your Elohim commanded you,
22
but returned and ate bread and drank water in the place concerning which He spoke to you: “You shall not eat bread and you shall not drink water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’”
23
And it came to pass, 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.
24
And he went, and a lion found him on the way and put him to death. And his corpse was cast upon the way, and the donkey stood beside it, and the lion stood beside the corpse.
25
And see, men were passing by, and they saw the corpse cast upon the way and the lion standing beside the corpse. And they came and spoke of it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26
And the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard and said: “It is the ish of Elohim who rebelled against the Mouth of Yahuah. Therefore Yahuah gave him to the lion, and it tore him and put him to death, according to the Word of Yahuah that He spoke to him.”
27
And he spoke to his sons, saying: “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it.
28
And he went and found his corpse cast upon the way, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse and had not torn the donkey.
29
And the prophet lifted up the corpse of the ish of Elohim and placed it upon the donkey and brought it back. And the old prophet came to the city to mourn and to bury him.
30
And he placed his corpse in his own tomb, and they mourned over him, saying: “Ah, my brother!”
31
And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying: “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the ish of Elohim is buried. Place my bones beside his bones.
32
For the Word that he called out by the Word of Yahuah against the altar that is in Beit-El, and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Shomron, coming, it shall surely come to pass.”
33
After this matter Yarovam did not return from his evil way, but again made from the ends of the people kohenim of the high places. Whoever delighted, he filled his hand, and he became one of the kohenim of the high places.
34
And this matter became sin to the House of Yarovam, even to cut it off and to destroy it from upon the face of the earth.