上帝的僕人警告耶羅波安
1有一位上帝的僕人奉耶和華的命令從猶大來到伯特利。那時，耶羅波安正站在祭壇旁燒香。 2上帝的僕人奉耶和華的命令向祭壇喊道：「祭壇啊，祭壇啊，耶和華說，必有一子在大衛家出生，他名叫約西亞。他要在你上面殺死這些獻祭的祭司，在你上面焚燒人的骨頭。」
3當日，他又說：「耶和華說要給你們一個徵兆，這壇必破裂，壇上的灰必撒出來。」
4耶羅波安王聽了他的話，就伸手指著他說：「給我拿住他！」但王伸出來的手僵住了，不能收回。 5這時，祭壇破裂了，壇上的灰也撒了出來，應驗了上帝的僕人奉耶和華之命所說的徵兆。
6王對上帝的僕人說：「請你為我禱告，求你的上帝耶和華使我的手復原。」於是，上帝的僕人向耶和華禱告，王的手就復原了。 7王對上帝的僕人說：「請你跟我回宮，吃點東西吧！我要酬謝你。」 8上帝的僕人卻說：「你就是把你一半的財富送給我，我也不跟你去，也不在這地方用飯喝水， 9因為耶和華吩咐我不可在伯特利用飯喝水，也不可原路返回。」 10上帝的僕人就從另一條路回去了，沒有原路返回。
11在伯特利住著一位老先知，他兒子們把上帝的僕人那天所行的事和對王所說的話告訴了他。 12老先知問道：「上帝的僕人走的哪條路？」他的兒子們就把上帝的僕人走的那條路告訴了他。 13-14於是，他囑咐兒子們為他備驢，然後騎驢去追趕上帝的僕人，看見他正坐在一棵橡樹下，便問：「你就是那位從猶大來的上帝的僕人嗎？」他說：「是。」 15老先知說：「請你跟我一起回家吃飯吧！」 16上帝的僕人說：「我不能跟你去，也不能跟你在這裡吃飯喝水， 17因為耶和華吩咐我不可在這裡用飯喝水，也不可原路返回。」 18老先知就說：「我也是先知，和你一樣。耶和華派天使來吩咐我帶你到我家吃飯喝水。」 19上帝的僕人就隨他回家吃飯喝水。
20席間，耶和華的話臨到老先知， 21他就對從猶大來的上帝的僕人說：「耶和華說，你違背了你的上帝耶和華的命令，沒有遵從祂的吩咐， 22竟然在祂禁止你吃喝的地方吃飯喝水，因此你的屍體必不得安葬在你的祖墳裡。」
23吃喝完了，老先知為他帶回家的這位先知備驢啟程， 24這位先知在路上遇到一頭獅子，被咬死了，屍體倒在路上，驢和獅子都站在屍體旁邊。 25過路的人看見屍體倒在路上，旁邊還站著一頭獅子，就去老先知住的城報告這事。 26老先知聽到消息，就說：「這是上帝的僕人，他違背了耶和華的命令，所以耶和華讓獅子咬死了他，正應驗了耶和華的話。」
27他吩咐兒子們備好驢， 28去了那裡，看見上帝僕人的屍體倒在路上，驢和獅子站在屍體旁。獅子既沒有吃屍體，也沒有傷害驢。 29老先知把屍體馱在驢背上，運回城中為他哀悼， 30把他葬在自己的墳墓裡，哀悼他說：「唉！我的弟兄啊！」 31安葬之後，老先知又對兒子們說：「我死後，你們要把我跟上帝的僕人合葬，讓我們的屍骨在一起。 32因為他奉耶和華的命令咒詛伯特利的祭壇和撒瑪利亞各城的神廟的話必應驗。」
33這事以後，耶羅波安沒有改邪歸正，他任命各種人做邱壇的祭司，不管誰想做祭司，他都封立他們。 34這罪使耶羅波安家走向沒落，最終徹底滅亡。
The man of God from Judah
1By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: ‘Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: “A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.” ’ 3That same day the man of God gave a sign: ‘This is the sign the Lord has declared: the altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.’
4When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, ‘Seize him!’ But the hand he stretched out towards the man shrivelled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.
6Then the king said 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 and became as it was before.
7The king said to the man of God, ‘Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.’
8But the man of God answered the king, ‘Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: “You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.” ’ 10So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
11Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12Their father asked them, ‘Which way did he go?’ And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13So he said to his sons, ‘Saddle the donkey for me.’ And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14and rode 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.
15So the prophet said to him, ‘Come home with me and eat.’
16The man of God said, ‘I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17I 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.” ’
18The old prophet answered, ‘I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord: “Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.” ’ (But he was lying to him.) 19So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.
20While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 22You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.” ’
23When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, ‘It is the man of God who defied the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him.’
27The prophet said to his sons, ‘Saddle the donkey for me,’ and they did so. 28Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. 29So the prophet picked 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. 30Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him and said, ‘Alas, my brother!’
31After burying him, he said to his sons, ‘When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32For the message he declared by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.’
33Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. 34This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.
