1 Reis 13

ARC · Chapter 13/22

1E eis que um homem de Deus veiu de Judah com a palavra do Senhor a Bethel: e Jeroboão estava junto ao altar, para queimar incenso.

2E clamou contra o altar com a palavra do Senhor, e disse: Altar, altar! assim diz o Senhor: Eis que um filho nascerá á casa de David, cujo nome será Josias, o qual sacrificará sobre ti os sacerdotes dos altos que queimam sobre ti incenso, e ossos de homens se queimarão sobre ti.

3E deu n'aquelle mesmo dia um signal, dizendo: Este é o signal de que o Senhor fallou: Eis que o altar se fenderá, e a cinza, que n'elle está, se derramará.

4Succedeu pois, que, ouvindo o rei a palavra do homem de Deus, que clamara contra o altar de Bethel, Jeroboão estendeu a sua mão de sobre o altar, dizendo: Pegae d'elle. Mas a sua mão, que estendera contra elle, se seccou, e não a podia tornar a trazer a si.

5E o altar se fendeu, e a cinza se derramou do altar; segundo o signal que o homem de Deus apontara pela palavra do Senhor.

6Então respondeu o rei, e disse ao homem de Deus: Ora á face do Senhor teu Deus, e roga por mim, que a minha mão se me restitua. Então o homem de Deus orou á face do Senhor, e a mão do rei se lhe restituiu, e ficou como d'antes.

7E o rei disse ao homem de Deus: Vem comigo a casa, e conforta-te; e dar-te-hei um presente.

8Porém o homem de Deus disse ao rei: Ainda que me désses metade da tua casa, não iria comtigo, nem comeria pão nem beberia agua n'este logar.

9Porque assim me ordenou o Senhor pela sua palavra, dizendo: Não comerás pão nem beberás agua; e não voltarás pelo caminho por onde foste

10E foi-se por outro caminho; e não voltou pelo caminho, por onde viera a Bethel.

11E morava em Bethel um propheta velho; e veiu seu filho, e contou-lhe tudo o que o homem de Deus fizera aquelle dia em Bethel, e as palavras que dissera ao rei; e as contaram a seu pae.

12E disse-lhes seu pae: Por que caminho se foi? E viram seus filhos o caminho por onde fôra o homem de Deus que viera de Judah.

13Então disse a seus filhos: Albardae-me um jumento. E albardaram-lhe o jumento, e montou n'elle.

14E foi-se apoz o homem de Deus, e o achou assentado debaixo d'um carvalho: e disse-lhe: És tu o homem de Deus que vieste de Judah? E elle disse: Eu sou.

15Então lhe disse: Vem comigo a casa, e come pão.

16Porém elle disse: Não posso voltar comtigo, nem entrarei comtigo; nem tão pouco comerei pão, nem beberei comtigo agua n'este logar.

17Porque me foi mandado pela palavra do Senhor: Ali nem comerás pão, nem beberás agua; nem tornarás a ir pelo caminho por que foste.

18E elle lhe disse: Tambem eu sou propheta como tu, e um anjo me fallou pela palavra do Senhor, dizendo: Faze-o voltar comtigo a tua casa, para que coma pão e beba agua (Porém mentiu-lhe).

19E tornou elle, e comeu pão em sua casa e bebeu agua.

20E succedeu que, estando elles á mesa, a palavra do Senhor veiu ao propheta que o tinha feito voltar.

21E clamou ao homem de Deus, que viera de Judah, dizendo: Assim diz o Senhor: Porquanto foste rebelde á bocca do Senhor, e não guardaste o mandamento que o Senhor teu Deus te mandara;

22Antes voltaste, e comeste pão e bebeste agua no logar de que te dissera: Não comerás pão nem beberás agua; o teu cadaver não entrará no sepulchro de teus paes.

23E succedeu que, depois que comeu pão, e depois que bebeu, albardou elle o jumento para o propheta que fizera voltar.

24Foi-se pois, e um leão o encontrou no caminho, e o matou: e o seu cadaver estava lançado no caminho, e o jumento estava parado junto a elle, e o leão estava junto ao cadaver.

25E eis que os homens passaram, e viram o corpo lançado no caminho, como tambem o leão, que estava junto ao corpo: e vieram, e o disseram na cidade onde o propheta velho habitava.

26E, ouvindo-o o propheta que o fizera voltar do caminho, disse: É o homem de Deus, que foi rebelde á bocca do Senhor: por isso o Senhor o entregou ao leão, que o despedaçou e matou, segundo a palavra que o Senhor lhe tinha dito.

27Então disse a seus filhos: Albardae-me o jumento. Elles o albardaram.

28Então foi, e achou o seu cadaver lançado no caminho, e o jumento e o leão, que estavam parados junto ao cadaver: o leão não tinha devorado o corpo, nem tinha despedaçado o jumento.

29Então o propheta levantou o cadaver do homem de Deus, e pôl-o em cima do jumento e o tornou a levar assim veiu o propheta velho á cidade, para o chorar e enterrar.

30E metteu o seu cadaver no seu proprio sepulchro; e prantearam sobre elle, dizendo: Ah irmão meu!

31E succedeu que, depois de o haver sepultado, fallou a seus filhos, dizendo: Morrendo eu, sepultae-me no sepulchro em que o homem de Deus está sepultado: ponde os meus ossos junto aos ossos d'elle.

32Porque certamente se cumprirá o que pela palavra do Senhor exclamou contra o altar que está em Bethel, como tambem contra todas as casas dos altos que estão nas cidades de Samaria.

33Depois d'estas coisas, Jeroboão não tornou do seu máu caminho; antes dos mais baixos do povo tornou a fazer sacerdotes dos logares altos; a quem queria lhe enchia a mão, e assim era um dos sacerdotes dos logares altos.

34E isso foi causa de peccado á casa de Jeroboão, para destruil-a e extinguil-a da terra.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A man of God from Judah prophesies against the altar of Jeroboam at Bethel and receives specific instructions not to eat or drink there. An old local prophet deceives him by claiming that God changed the command, and the man of God obeys the lie, later being killed by a lion as punishment for disobeying God's original word.

Explanation

This is one of the most unsettling stories in the Bible, and its central lesson concerns the seriousness of obeying God's word directly, even when another voice (even someone presenting himself as a prophet) appears to contradict it. The story serves as a stern warning against yielding to social pressure or seemingly well-intentioned hospitality when doing so means disobeying a clear, specific instruction from God. It is uncomfortable, but it teaches that sincerity does not replace obedience — the man of God was deceived, but was still responsible to verify and remain faithful to the original command.

Fun facts

  • The prophecy against the altar at Bethel names by name the future king Josiah, who would be born and reign about 300 years later — one of the most specific, long-range prophecies in the entire Bible, fulfilled literally in 2 Kings 23:15-18.
  • The fact that the lion killed the man but did not devour his body or attack the donkey is presented in the text as a supernatural sign, showing that the judgment was intentional and not a simple wild-animal accident.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Reis 13:1A man of God comes from Judah to Bethel with a message from the LORD, arriving just as Jeroboam is standing by the altar burning incense.
  2. 1 Reis 13:2The unnamed prophet announces, by name, a king who won’t be born and act until roughly three centuries later, recorded in the following book. It’s one of the rare cases in the Bible of such a specific long-range prediction, and it does end up being fulfilled down the line.
  3. 1 Reis 13:3He gives a sign that very day to prove the message is true: the altar itself will split apart and the ashes on it will spill out.
  4. 1 Reis 13:4On hearing the altar condemned, Jeroboam stretches out his hand and orders the man seized — but his hand instantly withers and freezes, unable to return to normal.
  5. 1 Reis 13:5The altar splits apart and the ashes spill out, exactly as the sign the man of God had announced by the word of the LORD.
  6. 1 Reis 13:6The king asks the man of God to intercede so his hand will return to normal, and it happens: Jeroboam’s hand is restored as it was before.
  7. 1 Reis 13:7The king invites the man of God to come home with him to rest, offering him a gift in return.
  8. 1 Reis 13:8But the man of God refuses, saying that even if he were given half the palace, he would not go, eat, or drink water in that place.
  9. 1 Reis 13:9He explains that the LORD gave him a specific command: not to eat bread, not to drink water, and not to return by the same road he came on.
  10. 1 Reis 13:10So he goes back by a different road, not the one that had brought him to Bethel.
  11. 1 Reis 13:11An old prophet living in Bethel learns, from his sons, everything the man of God had done and said to the king that day.
  12. 1 Reis 13:12The father asks which road he left by, and his sons point out the route the man of Judah had taken.
  13. 1 Reis 13:13He tells his sons to saddle a donkey, and mounts it to go after him.
  14. 1 Reis 13:14He catches up with the man of God sitting under an oak and asks if he is indeed the man from Judah; the answer is yes.
  15. 1 Reis 13:15The old prophet invites the man of God to eat bread at his house.
  16. 1 Reis 13:16The man of God refuses again, repeating that he cannot go back with him, nor eat nor drink there.
  17. 1 Reis 13:17He restates the command he received from the LORD: not to eat, not to drink, and not to return by the road he came on.
  18. 1 Reis 13:18The story is uncomfortable on purpose: the man of God had a clear command not to eat or drink there, yet he believes a claim about an angel that turns out to be another prophet’s lie. He pays with his life for trusting the wrong word instead of holding to the original command he had already received directly.
  19. 1 Reis 13:19In spite of everything, he ends up going back with the old prophet and eating bread and drinking water in his house — the fatal mistake that will cost him dearly.
  20. 1 Reis 13:20While they are sitting at the table, the word of the LORD comes upon the very old prophet who had made him turn back.
  21. 1 Reis 13:21He cries out against the man of God who came from Judah: because he disobeyed the LORD’s command and did not keep the order he had received.
  22. 1 Reis 13:22Because he went back and ate bread and drank water in the forbidden place, his body will not be buried in his ancestors’ tomb.
  23. 1 Reis 13:23After he has eaten and drunk, the old prophet saddles the donkey for him — sending him back onto the road, now doomed to disaster.
  24. 1 Reis 13:24On the road, a lion meets him and kills him; his body lies there, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it, a scene that already sounds unnatural.
  25. 1 Reis 13:25People passing by see the body and the lion standing near it, and go tell about it in the city where the old prophet lives.
  26. 1 Reis 13:26On hearing the news, the old prophet concludes: it is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD — that’s why he was handed over to the lion, exactly as the word had said.
  27. 1 Reis 13:27He tells his sons to saddle the donkey again, and they obey.
  28. 1 Reis 13:28He finds the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion still standing there; the lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey — a sign that this was divine judgment, not an ordinary attack.
  29. 1 Reis 13:29The old prophet lifts the body, sets it on the donkey, and brings it back to the city, to mourn for him and bury him.
  30. 1 Reis 13:30He buries the body in his own tomb, and everyone mourns for him, saying, “Alas, my brother!”
  31. 1 Reis 13:31After the burial, he tells his sons: when I die, bury me in this same tomb, beside his bones.
  32. 1 Reis 13:32For the message he cried out against the altar at Bethel and against the high places in all the cities of Samaria will certainly come to pass.
  33. 1 Reis 13:33Even after all this, Jeroboam does not abandon the wrong path; he keeps appointing priests for the high places from among any of the people who wanted the position.
  34. 1 Reis 13:34Even after the sign of the split altar and his own paralyzed hand, Jeroboam goes back to appointing priests outside the line of Levi. The text points to this stubbornness as the root cause of his dynasty’s coming destruction.

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