Jeroboam’s Hand Withers (2 Kings 23:4–20; 2 Chronicles 34:3–7)
1 UEB A man of God came out of Judah by the word of Yahweh to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. BSB BSB: Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.
2 UEB He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh: "Altar, altar! This is what Yahweh says, 'See, a son named Josiah will be born to the family of David, and on you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now burn incense on you. On you they will burn human bones.'" BSB BSB: And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’”
3 UEB Then the man of God gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign that Yahweh has spoken: 'Look, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out.'" BSB BSB: That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’”
4 UEB When the king heard what the man of God said, that he had cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam reached out with his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him." Then the hand with which he had reached out against the man dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. BSB BSB: Now when King Jeroboam, who was at the altar in Bethel, heard the word that the man of God had cried out against it, he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward him withered, so that he could not pull it back.
5 UEB (The altar was also split apart and the ashes poured out from the altar, as described by the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Yahweh.) BSB BSB: And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
6 UEB King Jeroboam answered and said to the man of God, "Plead for the favor of Yahweh your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me again." So the man of God prayed to Yahweh, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and it became as it was before. BSB BSB: Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before.
7 UEB The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward." BSB BSB: Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
8 UEB The man of God said to the king, "Even if you give me half your possessions, I will not go with you, nor will I eat food or drink water in this place, BSB BSB: But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your possessions, I still would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place.
9 UEB because Yahweh commanded me by his word, 'You will eat no bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.'" BSB BSB: For this is what I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’”
10 UEB So the man of God left another way and did not return to his home by the way that he had come to Bethel. BSB BSB: So the man of God went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
The Old Prophet and the Man of God 11 UEB Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and one of his sons came and told him all the things that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. His sons also told him the words that the man of God had spoken to the king. BSB BSB: Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words that the man had spoken to the king.
12 UEB Their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" Now his sons had seen the way the man of God from Judah had gone. BSB BSB: “Which way did he go?” their father asked. And his sons showed him the way taken by the man of God, who had come from Judah.
13 UEB So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey and he rode off on it. BSB BSB: So the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” Then they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it
14 UEB The old prophet went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree; and he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" He answered, "I am." BSB BSB: and went after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “I am,” he replied.
15 UEB Then the old prophet said to him, "Come home with me and eat food." BSB BSB: So the prophet said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some bread.”
16 UEB The man of God answered, "I may not return with you nor go in with you, neither will I eat food nor drink water with you in this place, BSB BSB: But the man replied, “I cannot go home with you, and I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place.
17 UEB because it was commanded to me by the word of Yahweh, 'You will eat no food nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.'" BSB BSB: For I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”
18 UEB So the old prophet said to him, "I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, 'Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat food and drink water.'" But he was lying to the man of God. BSB BSB: Then the prophet replied, “I too am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” The old prophet was lying to him,
19 UEB So the man of God went back with the old prophet and ate food in his house and drank water. BSB BSB: but the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water.
20 UEB As they sat at the table, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who had brought him back, BSB BSB: While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back,
21 UEB and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Yahweh says, 'Because you have been disobedient to the word of Yahweh and have not kept the command that Yahweh your God gave you, BSB BSB: and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment that the LORD your God gave you,
22 UEB but came back and have eaten food and drunk water in the place about which Yahweh told you to eat no food and drink no water, your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.'" BSB BSB: but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to do so, your body shall never reach the tomb of your fathers.’”
23 UEB After he had eaten food and after he had drunk, the prophet saddled the donkey of the man of God, the man who had come back with him. BSB BSB: And after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him.
24 UEB When the man of God was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left on the road. Then the donkey stood by it, and the lion also stood by the body. BSB BSB: As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
25 UEB When men passed by and saw the body left on the road, and the lion standing by the body, they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. BSB BSB: And there were men passing by who saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported this in the city where the old prophet lived.
26 UEB When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, "It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of Yahweh. Therefore Yahweh gave him to the lion, which tore him to pieces and killed him, just as the word of Yahweh warned him." BSB BSB: When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.”
27 UEB So the old prophet spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle my donkey," and they saddled it. BSB BSB: Then the old prophet instructed his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it,
28 UEB He went and found the body left in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body, nor attacked the donkey. BSB BSB: and he went and found the body lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or mauled the donkey.
29 UEB The prophet took up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. He came to his own city to mourn and to bury him. BSB BSB: So the old prophet lifted up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him.
30 UEB He laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, "Woe, my brother!" BSB BSB: Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!”
31 UEB Then after he had buried him, the old prophet spoke to his sons, saying, "When I am dead, bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. BSB BSB: After he had buried him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, you must bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones,
32 UEB For the message he declared by the word of Yahweh, against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses on the high places in the cities of Samaria, will certainly happen." BSB BSB: for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.”
33 UEB After this Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but continued to appoint common priests for the high places from among all sorts of people. Any who would serve he consecrated as a priest. BSB BSB: Even after these events, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways, but again he appointed priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained anyone who desired to be a priest of the high places.
34 UEB This matter became sin to the family of Jeroboam and caused his family to be destroyed and to be exterminated from the face of the earth. BSB BSB: And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth.
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