1Suddenly, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah, sent by Yahweh. Jeroboam was standing by the altar, ready to burn incense.
2The man of God cried out against the altar with Yahweh’s message: “Altar, altar! Yahweh says: ‘Listen! A son named Josiah will be born into David’s family. On you, he will sacrifice the priests from the high places who burn incense here, and human bones will be burned on you.’”
3That same day, the man of God gave a sign, saying, “This is the sign Yahweh has given: The altar will split apart, and the ashes on it will spill out.”
4When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God shouted against the altar in Bethel, he reached out his hand from the altar and ordered, “Arrest him!” But the hand he reached out against the man instantly became stiff and shriveled, and he couldn't pull it back.
5At the same time, the altar split apart, and the ashes spilled out from the altar, just as the man of God had announced by Yahweh’s word.
6The king said to the man of God, “Please, ask Yahweh your God to be kind to me, and pray for me so my hand can be normal again.” The man of God prayed to Yahweh, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.
7The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, get something to eat, and I will give you a gift.”
8But the man of God replied to the king, “Even if you gave me half of your valuable possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place.
9Because Yahweh instructed me, saying, ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there, and do not return by the same road you came.’”
10So he left by a different road and did not go back the way he had come to Bethel.
11Now, there was an old prophet living in Bethel. One of his sons came and told him everything the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king.
12The father asked them, “Which way did he go?” His sons had seen which direction the man of God from Judah had taken.
13He told his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” They saddled the donkey, and he rode on it.
14He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” He replied, “I am.”
15Then the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.”
16But he replied, “I cannot go back with you or enter your home. I will not eat or drink anything with you in this place.
17Because Yahweh told me, ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there, and do not return by the same road you came.’”
18The old prophet said to him, “I am also a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me with Yahweh’s message, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat bread and drink water.’” But the old prophet was lying to him.
19So the man of God went back with the old prophet and ate bread and drank water in his house.
20As they sat at the table, Yahweh's message came to the prophet who had brought the man of God back.
21And the old prophet called out to the man of God who had come from Judah, saying, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you disobeyed Yahweh’s command and did not keep the instruction Yahweh your God gave you,
22but instead came back, and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you, “Do not eat bread or drink water,” your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”
23After the man of God had eaten and drunk, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him, the prophet he had brought back.
24As the man of God left, a lion met him on the road and killed him. His body lay on the path, with the donkey standing nearby, and the lion also stood by the body.
25Look, some men passed by and saw the body lying on the path and the lion standing next to it. They went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26When the prophet who had brought the man of God back heard about it, he said, "It is the man of God who disobeyed Yahweh's command. That is why Yahweh handed him over to the lion, which has mauled and killed him, just as Yahweh said would happen."
27He then told his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me," and they saddled it.
28He went and found the man of God's body lying on the path, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body nor harmed the donkey.
29The prophet picked up the body of the man of God, placed it on the donkey, and brought it back. He returned to the old prophet's city to mourn and bury him.
30He laid the man's body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him, crying, "Oh, my brother!"
31After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, "When I die, bury me in the same tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones next to his bones.
32Because the message he declared by Yahweh’s word against the altar in Bethel, and against all the idol shrines in the cities of Samaria, will certainly come true."
33Even after this event, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways. He continued to appoint priests for the idol shrines from among all the people. He consecrated anyone who wanted to be a priest for these shrines.
34This action became a sin for Jeroboam's family, leading to its complete destruction and removal from the face of the earth.