1
At the Lord ’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense.
2
Then at the Lord ’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.”
3
That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The Lord has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.”
4
When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back.
5
At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the Lord .
6
The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the Lord your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the Lord , and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again.
7
Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.”
8
But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place.
9
For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”
10
So he left Bethel and went home another way.