TRV
Translation
King James Version
And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
Complete Jewish Bible
He then said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him; and, riding on it,
Berean Standard Bible
So the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” Then they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it
American Standard Version
And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon.
World English Bible Messianic
He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And hee saide vnto his sonnes, Saddle mee the asse. Who sadled him the asse, and hee rode thereon,
Young's Literal Translation
And he saith unto his sons, `Saddle for me the ass,' and they saddle for him the ass, and he rideth on it,
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In the KJVVerse 9,198 of 31,102
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Commentary on 1 Kings 13 verses 11–22
11 ¶ Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
The man of God had honestly and resolutely refused the king's invitation, though he promised him a reward; yet he was over-persuaded by an old prophet to come back with him, and dine in Beth-el, contrary to the command given him. Here we find how dearly his dinner cost him. Observe with wonder,
I. The old prophet's wickedness. I cannot but call him a false prophet and a bad man, it being much easier to believe that from one of such a bad character should be extorted a confirmation of what the man of God said (as we find, Kg1 13:32) than that a true prophet, and a good man, should tell such a deliberate lie as he did, and father it upon God. A good tree could never bring forth such corrupt fruit. Perhaps he was trained up among the sons of the prophets, in one of Samuel's colleges not far off, whence he retained the name of a prophet, but, growing worldly and profane, the spirit of prophecy had departed from him. If he had been a good prophet he would have reproved Jeroboam's idolatry, and not have suffered his sons to attend his altars, as, it should seem, they did. Now, 1. Whether he had any good design in fetching back the man of God is not certain. One may hope that he did it in compassion to him, concluding he wanted refreshment, and out of a desire to be better acquainted with him and more fully to understand his errand than he could from the report of his sons; yet his sons having told him all that passed, and particularly that the prophet was forbidden to eat or drink there, which he had openly told Jeroboam, I suppose it was done with a bad design, to draw him into a snare, and so to expose him; for false prophets have ever been the worst enemies to the true prophets, usually aiming to destroy them, but sometimes, as here, to debauch them and draw them from their duty. Thus they gave the Nazarites wine to drink (Amo 2:12), that they might glory in their fall. But, 2. It is certain that he took a very bad method to bring him back. When the man of God had told him, "I may not, and therefore I will not, return to eat bread with thee" (his resolutions concurring with the divine command, Kg1 13:16, Kg1 13:17), he wickedly pretended that he had an order from heaven to fetch him back. He imposed upon him by asserting his quondam character as a prophet: I am a prophet also as thou art; he pretended he had a vision of an angel that sent him on this errand. But it was all a lie; it was a banter upon prophecy, and profane in the highest degree. When this old prophet is spoken of (Kg2 23:18) he is called the prophet that came out of Samaria, whereas there was no such place as Samaria till long after, Kg1 16:24. Therefore I take it he is so called there, though he was of Beth-el, because he was like those who were afterwards the prophets of Samaria, who caused God's people Israel to err, Jer 23:13.
II. The good prophet's weakness, in suffering himself to be thus imposed upon: He went back with him, Kg1 13:19. He that had resolution enough to refuse the invitation of the king, who promised him a reward, could not resist the insinuations of one that pretended to be a prophet. God's people are more in danger of being drawn from their duty by the plausible pretences of divinity and sanctity than by external inducements; we have therefore need to beware of false prophets, and not believe every spirit.
III. The proceedings of divine justice hereupon; and here we may well wonder that the wicked prophet, who told the lie and did the mischief, went unpunished, while the holy man of God, that was drawn by him into sin, was suddenly and severely punished for it. What shall we make of this! The judgments of God are unfathomable. The deceived and the deceiver are his, and he giveth not account of any of his matters. Certainly there must be a judgment to come, when these things will be called over again, and when those that sinned most and suffered least, in this world, will receive according to their works. 1. The message delivered to the man of God was strange. His crime is recited, Kg1 13:21, Kg1 13:22. It was, in one word, disobedience to an express command. Judgment is given upon it: Thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers, that is, "Thou shalt never reach thy own house, but shalt be a carcase quickly, nor shall thy dead body be brought to the place of thy fathers' sepulchres, to be interred." 2. Yet it was more strange that the old prophet himself should be the messenger. Of this we can give no account but that God would have it so, as he spoke to Balaam by his ass and read Saul his doom by the devil in Samuel's likeness. We may think God designed hereby, (1.) To startle the lying prophet, and make him sensible of his sin. The message could not but affect him the more when he himself had the delivering of it, and had so strong an impression made upon his spirit by it that he cried out, as one in an agony, Kg1 13:21. He had reason to think, if he must die for his disobedience in a small matter who sinned by surprise, of how much sorer punishment he should be thought worthy who had belied an angel of God and cheated a man of God by a deliberate forgery. If this were done to the green tree, what shall be done to the dry? Perhaps it had a good effect upon him. Those who preach God's wrath to others have hard hearts indeed if they fear it not themselves. (2.) To put the greater mortification upon the prophet that was deceived, and to show what those must expect who hearken to the great deceiver. Those that yield to him as a tempter will be terrified by him as a tormentor; whom he now fawns upon he will afterwards fly upon, and whom he now draws into sin he will do what he can to drive to despair.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 11–22. Public domain.
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SUMMARY
The old prophet of Bethel's instruction to his sons to prepare his donkey, upon which he then mounts. This seemingly ordinary action is, in fact, a pivotal moment, serving as the immediate catalyst for the old prophet's deceptive pursuit of the unnamed man of God from Judah. It initiates a tragic sequence of events that will culminate in the man of God's disobedience, divine judgment, and death, thereby powerfully highlighting the critical themes of obedience, deception, and the severe consequences of straying from God's explicit commands.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This verse serves as a critical narrative hinge within the dramatic account of 1 Kings 13. Immediately preceding it, the "man of God" from Judah has faithfully delivered a powerful prophetic word against King Jeroboam's idolatrous altar at Bethel, even miraculously demonstrating God's power by withering and then restoring Jeroboam's hand (1 Kings 13:1-6). He had been given a strict divine command not to eat or drink in Bethel and not to return by the same way he came (1 Kings 13:9). After refusing the king's invitation to dine, he departed. The old prophet, hearing of these events from his sons, sees an opportunity to intervene. Verse 13 describes his immediate, purposeful action to prepare his donkey, signaling his intent to intercept the man of God and initiate the deceptive encounter that follows (1 Kings 13:14-19).
Historical & Cultural Context: The setting is Bethel, a historically significant religious site in ancient Israel that King Jeroboam had recently transformed into a center for calf worship, directly challenging the legitimate worship at Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:28-30). Donkeys were ubiquitous and essential beasts of burden and transport in ancient Near Eastern societies, used for travel, agriculture, and daily tasks. The act of "saddling the ass" was a common, everyday preparation for a journey, yet here it is imbued with immense narrative weight. The presence of an "old prophet" living in Bethel amidst Jeroboam's apostasy raises complex questions about the nature of prophecy, spiritual authority, and fidelity in a divided kingdom. This period, following the division of the united monarchy, was marked by spiritual decline and political instability in Israel, making the integrity of prophetic witness particularly vital.
Key Themes: The preparation of the donkey in this verse is pregnant with thematic significance. It serves as the physical catalyst for the pursuit of deception, as the old prophet's seemingly benign action leads directly to his cunning manipulation of the man of God. This narrative also powerfully illustrates the fragility of obedience and the severe consequences of disregarding divine commands. While the man of God initially demonstrated unwavering faithfulness to God's explicit instructions (1 Kings 13:8-10), the old prophet's calculated intervention, initiated by the saddling of the donkey, tests this resolve. The subsequent events underscore the danger of listening to counsel that contradicts God's clear word, even when it comes from someone claiming spiritual authority, a theme echoed in warnings against false prophets throughout Scripture, such as in Deuteronomy 13:1-5.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several significant literary devices that amplify its dramatic impact. Foreshadowing is prominent, as the simple act of saddling and riding the donkey subtly yet powerfully signals the impending pursuit and the tragic outcome for the man of God. The reader, aware of God's strict command to the man of God, senses the danger inherent in this seemingly innocent preparation. Dramatic Irony is also at play; the old prophet's sons are merely obeying a paternal command, and the old prophet himself may appear to be acting out of concern or even a misguided sense of prophetic duty, but the audience knows (or soon learns) that his actions are driven by deceit, leading to a disastrous end for the man of God. The Repetition of the action of "saddling the ass" (implied by "Saddle me the ass" and "So they saddled him the ass") emphasizes the deliberate and completed nature of the preparation, underscoring the old prophet's unwavering resolve to embark on his mission of deception.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
1 Kings 13:13, while describing a simple action, is deeply embedded in the theological landscape of the Old Testament, particularly concerning the nature of divine command, human obedience, and the perils of deception. It highlights the critical importance of discerning truth, especially when it comes from those who claim spiritual authority, and underscores the severe consequences of disobedience to God's explicit word. The narrative serves as a stark warning against compromising divine revelation, emphasizing that God's commands are not negotiable, regardless of the source of temptation or the perceived good intentions of others. This incident illustrates that even prophets can be instruments of deception, and that personal accountability to God's word is paramount. It implicitly calls believers to a rigorous hermeneutic of suspicion toward any message that contradicts God's clear revelation.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The brief action described in 1 Kings 13:13 serves as a potent reminder that seemingly small decisions can set in motion profound and far-reaching consequences, particularly in the spiritual realm. The old prophet's decision to saddle his donkey was not a neutral act; it was the deliberate initiation of a deceptive plan that led to another prophet's death. This narrative urges us to cultivate profound spiritual discernment, to rigorously test every word and counsel against the clear revelation of God's Word, and to remain steadfast in our obedience even when faced with persuasive arguments or seemingly authoritative voices that contradict what God has plainly commanded. It challenges us to consider our own readiness to pursue truth and to be wary of actions, however mundane, that might lead us or others astray from the path of faithfulness. Our commitment to God's revealed will must be unwavering, recognizing that compromise, even under duress or deception, carries significant spiritual cost.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why was the old prophet so determined to pursue the man of God?
Answer: The text does not explicitly state the old prophet's precise motives, but several interpretations are possible. He might have been jealous of the younger prophet's direct commission from God and the powerful signs accompanying his ministry (1 Kings 13:1-6). Alternatively, he might have wanted to test the man of God, or perhaps, out of a misguided sense of authority or a desire to assert his own prophetic standing in Bethel, he sought to bring the man of God under his influence. His subsequent lie about an angel commanding him to bring the man of God back (1 Kings 13:18) strongly suggests a deliberate act of deception, possibly rooted in pride, envy, or a desire to undermine the true prophet's message of judgment against the idolatry prevalent in Bethel.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The tragic narrative of 1 Kings 13, initiated by the old prophet's decision to saddle his donkey in verse 13, finds its profound Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While the man of God from Judah tragically succumbed to deception and disobeyed a clear divine command, leading to his death, Jesus stands as the ultimate embodiment of perfect obedience and truth. Unlike the man of God who was led astray by a false prophetic word, Jesus consistently and perfectly fulfilled the will of His Father, even to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). The donkey, an animal often associated with humble service and peace, which the old prophet used for deception, becomes in the New Testament the very animal upon which Jesus rides into Jerusalem, not as a deceiver, but as the King of Peace, humbly presenting Himself as the promised Messiah (Matthew 21:5; Zechariah 9:9). Where the old prophet's actions led to death through lies, Christ's life and sacrifice bring eternal life through truth (John 14:6). He is the true Prophet who speaks only the words of God (John 12:49-50), and His followers are called to listen to His voice alone, discerning truth from falsehood by the Spirit of truth He provides (John 16:13).