1 A man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, while Jeroboam stood beside the altar to burn incense. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: “Altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘A son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn human bones on you.’ ” 3 That same day he gave a sign, saying, “This is the sign the LORD has spoken: the altar will split apart, and the ashes on it will spill out.” 4 When the king heard the word the man of God proclaimed against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out against him withered, and he could not draw it back. 5 The altar split apart, and the ashes spilled from the altar, according to the sign the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 The king said to the man of God, “Please seek the favor of the LORD your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” The man of God sought the LORD’s favor, and the king’s hand was restored, becoming as it had been before. 7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a gift.” 8 But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you gave me half your house, I would not go with you. I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for 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 So he went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

11 An old prophet lived in Bethel. His son came and told him everything the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words he had spoken to the king. 12 Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” His sons had seen the way taken by the man of God who came from Judah. 13 He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” They saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it. 14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting under the terebinth tree. He asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” He answered, “I am.” 15 He said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 But he answered, “I cannot return with you or go in with you. I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place, 17 for I was told by the word of the LORD, ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there, or return by the way you came.’ ” 18 The other said to him, “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.’ ” But he was lying to him. 19 So the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water. 20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back.

21 He cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you, 22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place where he told you, “You must not eat bread or drink water,” your body will not come to the tomb of your ancestors.’ ” 23 After he had eaten bread and drunk, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back. 24 The man went on his way, and a lion met him on the road and killed him. His body lay thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it and the lion standing beside the body. 25 Men passing by saw the body thrown on the road and the lion standing beside the body. They went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 When the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the LORD. The LORD has handed him over to the lion, which mauled him and killed him, according to the word the LORD spoke to him.” 27 He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it. 28 He went and found his body thrown on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or mauled the donkey. 29 The prophet lifted the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. The old prophet came to the city to mourn him and bury him. 30 He laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 31 After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones, 32 for the word he proclaimed by the word of the LORD against the altar at Bethel and against all the shrines of the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.”

33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way. He again appointed priests of the high places from among the people. He ordained anyone who wished, and that person became a priest of the high places. 34 This became sin for the house of Jeroboam, leading to its elimination and destruction from the face of the earth.