1 Kings 13:6
in 1 Kings 13Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the favor of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God entreated Jehovah, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
KJV
And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
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This verse in 1 Kings 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBut when in the temple of our God, that wicked king Jeroboam took away the gifts that his father had laid up and offered them to idols on the holy altar, did not his right hand, which he stretched, wither, and his idols, which he called on, were not able to help him? Then, turning to the Lord, he asked for pardon, and at once his hand, which had withered by sacrilege, was healed by true religion.
This site's exposition
Lay hold on him
on 1 Kings 13:4-6
Jeroboam's own hand executes the sign: stretched out to seize the prophet, it dries up mid-gesture and the altar splits at the same moment. The king who moments before commanded the man of God's arrest now asks that same man to pray for his healing, and the prayer is granted though nothing in the text says the king's heart changed with his hand. Gill and the bench read the healing as mercy rather than reward, since Jeroboam returns to his idolatry within the chapter.
This site's exposition
Intercede with the LORD your God
Jeroboam says your God to the man of God, and Adam Clarke reads the pronoun as a confession that the LORD was no longer his. Matthew Henry notes that the king's own incense could do nothing here. The prayer of the man he tried to seize healed him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He wounded, and no hand but his can make whole. Not by his own sacrifice or incense, but by the prayer and intercession of the prophet, whom he had just now threatened and aimed to destroy. The time may come when those that hate the preaching would be glad of the prayers of faithful ministers.
Thy God - Who hath manifested himself to be thy God and friend, in a singular manner; and therefore will hear thy prayers for me, though he will not regard mine, because I have forsaken him and his worship. Besought - To assure Jeroboam, that what he had said, was not from ill-will to him, and that he heartily desired his reformation, and not his ruin.
And the king answered and said unto the man of God,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Entreat - the face of the Lord thy God - The face of God is his favor, as we see in many parts of the sacred writings. He says, thy God; for Jeroboam knew that he was not his God, for he was now in the very act of acknowledging other gods, and had no portion in the God of Jacob.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
That moment the king's arm became stiff and motionless, and the altar split asunder, so that the fire and ashes fell on the floor. Overawed by the effects of his impiety, Jeroboam besought the prophet's prayer. His request was acceded to, and the hand was restored to its healthy state.
The words behind it
29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֨עַן | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| חַל־ | chal- | entreat | H2470 → | 76 times |
| נָ֞א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פְּנֵ֨י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְהִתְפַּלֵּ֣ל | vehitpalel | and pray | H6419 → | 84 times |
| בַּעֲדִ֔י | baadi | for me | H1157 → | |
| וְתָשֹׁ֥ב | vetasho | so may it come back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יָדִ֖י | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֵלָ֑י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַיְחַ֤ל | vaychal | and he entreated | H2470 → | 76 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַתָּ֤שָׁב | vatashov | and it came back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַתְּהִ֖י | vatehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּבָרִֽאשֹׁנָֽה׃ | kevarishonah | as at the former [time] | H7223 → | 182 times |
וַיַּ֨עַןand he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אִ֣ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
חַל־entreat
chal-H2470 →76 times
נָ֞אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פְּנֵ֨י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
וְהִתְפַּלֵּ֣לand pray
vehitpalelH6419 →84 times
בַּעֲדִ֔יfor me
baadiH1157 →
וְתָשֹׁ֥בso may it come back
vetashoH7725 →1056 times
יָדִ֖יhand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
אֵלָ֑יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
וַיְחַ֤לand he entreated
vaychalH2470 →76 times
אִישׁ־[the] man of
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַתָּ֤שָׁבand it came back
vatashovH7725 →1056 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
וַתְּהִ֖יand it was
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
כְּבָרִֽאשֹׁנָֽה׃as at the former [time]
kevarishonahH7223 →182 times
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
Exodus 8:8Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the…
it leads to
- Exodus 10:17
Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 9:28
Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 8:25–28
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within this land.”
- Exodus 12:31–32
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
- Exodus 10:17
Through
Exodus 10:17Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
it leads to
- Exodus 8:8
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 8:8
Through
Acts 8:24Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
it leads to
- Numbers 21:7
Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 42:8
So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer…
- Genesis 20:7
Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and…
- Numbers 21:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Virginity 2.5.38; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.