The Tanakh · JPS 1917 Translation

1 Kings 13

Jewish Publication Society 1917 · Nevi'im — the Prophets

1 Kings chapter 13 — part of the Nevi'im — the Prophets in the Jewish Bible. In the classic JPS 1917 translation it opens: “And, behold, there came a man of G-d out of Judah by the word of HaShem unto Beth-el; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to…” — the complete text of all 34 verses is below, free to read online.

1And, behold, there came a man of G-d out of Judah by the word of HaShem unto Beth-el; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer.

2And he cried against the altar by the word of HaShem, and said: 'O altar, altar, thus saith HaShem: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon thee.'

3And he gave a sign the same day saying: 'This is the sign which HaShem 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 the king heard the saying of the man of G-d, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam 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 draw it back to him.

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

6And the king answered and said unto the man of G-d: 'Entreat now the favour of HaShem thy G-d, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me.' And the man of G-d entreated HaShem, and the king's hand was restored him, and became as it was before.

7And the king said unto the man of G-d: 'Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.'

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

9For it so was charged me by the word of HaShem, saying: Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the 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 one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of G-d had done that day in Beth-el, and the words which he had spoken unto the king, and they told them unto their father.

12And their father said unto them: 'What way went he?' For his sons had seen what way the man of G-d went, that came from Judah.

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

14And he went after the man of G-d, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said unto him: 'Art thou the man of G-d 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 HaShem: Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn back to go by the way that thou camest.'

18And he said unto him: 'I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of HaShem, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water.' --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 HaShem came unto the prophet that brought him back.

21And he cried unto the man of G-d that came from Judah, saying: 'Thus saith HaShem: Forasmuch as thou hast rebelled against the word of HaShem, and hast not kept the commandment which HaShem thy G-d commanded thee,

22but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to thee: Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcass 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, namely, 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 carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the carcass.

25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass; 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 G-d, who rebelled against the word of HaShem; therefore HaShem hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of HaShem, which He spoke unto him.'

27And he spoke to his sons, saying: 'Saddle me the ass.' And they saddled it.

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

29And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of G-d, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet, to lament, and to bury him.

30And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they made lamentation for him: 'Alas, my brother!'

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

32For the saying which he cried by the word of HaShem 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 from among all the people priests of the high places; whosoever would, he consecrated him, that he might be one of the priests of the high places.

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

34 verses · JPS 1917 (public domain)

‹ 1 Kings 12 1 Kings 14 ›

Read, search & bookmark — free

This text opens instantly in the FourFaiths reader, with full-text search across every book, bookmarks saved in your browser, reading plans and a verse of the day. No account, no tracking — everything runs locally in your browser.

Open in the Tanakh reader →