1 Kings 13:26
in 1 Kings 13When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the mouth of Jehovah: therefore Jehovah hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake unto him.
KJV
And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him.
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This verse in 1 Kings 13
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
It is the man of God
Word reaches the old prophet at Bethel. He reads the death correctly on a report alone: “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD”. He states the theology of the judgment without yet naming his own part in causing the disobedience he condemns.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
It is not to be imagined that one has been so annihilated by the teeth of a beast that his soul has then been snatched away to infernal punishment, since the same lion who killed his very body guarded it. Even the beast of burden on which the man had been riding was unhurt and with great courage stood in the presence of the wild beast at the destruction of his master. By this miraculous sign it is made clear that the man of God was corrected temporarily even at the point of death rather than that he was punished after death. On this subject the apostle Paul, when he had made mention of certain unpleasant infirmities and death experienced by many, said, "But if we judged ourselves, we should not thus be judged by the Lord. But when we are judged, we are being chastised by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world."
We know that even saintly men have been given over in the flesh to Satan and to great afflictions for some very slight faults, since the divine mercy will not tolerate the very least spot or stain to be found in them on the day of judgment, and purges away in this world every spot of their filth, as the prophet, or rather God himself says, in order that he may commit them to eternity as gold or silver refined and needing no penal purification. "And," he says,"I will clean purge away your dross, and I will take away all your sin; and after this you will be called the city of the just, a faithful city." And again: "Just as silver and gold are tried in the furnace, so the Lord chooses hearts." 18 And again: "The fire tries gold and silver, but man is tried in the furnace of humiliation." And this also: "For the Lord chastens those whom he loves, and he disciplines every son whom he receives." We see a clear instance of this in the case of the prophet and man of God in the third book of Kings who was immediately destroyed by a lion for a single disobedience, in which he was implicated not of set purpose nor by the fault of his own will but by the enticement of another. As the Scripture says of him: "It is the man of God, who disobeyed the word of the Lord, and the Lord delivered him to the lion, and it killed him according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke." The punishment for his present offense and his careless error—together with the reward for his righteousness—for which the Lord gave over his prophet in this world to the destroyer appeared in the moderation and abstinence of the beast of prey, when that most savage creature did not dare even to taste the carcass that was given over to him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Through the words "a lion killed him" [the Scripture] shows that [the lion] strangled and killed him according to God's command. And through the sentence "it did not eat him," it shows that [the animal] was not urged by hunger but acted in compliance with …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof,....
The words behind it
25 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע | vaiyishma' | and he heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| הַנָּבִיא֮ | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֱשִׁיב֣וֹ | heshivo | he had brought back him | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַדֶּרֶךְ֒ | haderekh | the way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | [is] [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֣ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מָרָ֖ה | marah | he was disobedient to | H4784 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּ֣י | pi | [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיִּתְּנֵ֨הוּ | vaiyitenehu | and he has given him | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָאַרְיֵ֗ה | laaryeh | to the lion | H738 → | 80 times |
| וַֽיִּשְׁבְּרֵ֙הוּ֙ | vaiyishberehu | and it has mauled him | H7665 → | 147 times |
| וַיְמִתֵ֔הוּ | vaymitehu | and it has killed him | H4191 → | 839 times |
| כִּדְבַ֥ר | kidvar | according to [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּר־ | diber- | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | to him |
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣עand he heard
vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times
הַנָּבִיא֮the prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֱשִׁיב֣וֹhe had brought back him
heshivoH7725 →1056 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַדֶּרֶךְ֒the way
haderekhH1870 →707 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אִ֣ישׁ[is] [the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֣ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
ה֔וּאthat
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מָרָ֖הhe was disobedient to
marahH4784 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פִּ֣י[the] mouth of
piH6310 →498 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיִּתְּנֵ֨הוּand he has given him
vaiyitenehuH5414 →2011 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָאַרְיֵ֗הto the lion
laaryehH738 →80 times
וַֽיִּשְׁבְּרֵ֙הוּ֙and it has mauled him
vaiyishberehuH7665 →147 times
וַיְמִתֵ֔הוּand it has killed him
vaymitehuH4191 →839 times
כִּדְבַ֥רaccording to [the] word of
kidvarH1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּר־he spoke
diber-H1696 →1141 times
לֽוֹ׃to him
lo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 11:31If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
it leads to
- 1 Peter 4:17–18
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 25:29
For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Peter 4:17–18
Through
1 Corinthians 11:30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
it leads to
- Revelation 3:19
Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 15:26
saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then…
- Revelation 3:19
Through
Ezekiel 9:6Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders…
it leads to
- Revelation 9:4
They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
- Exodus 12:23
When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow…
- 2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”
- Revelation 9:4
Through
2 Samuel 12:14Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”
it leads to
- Romans 2:24
As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
- Romans 2:24
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, On the Care of the Dead 7.9; Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 13:24-28; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 7.25-26; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.