TRV
Translation
King James Version
And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
Complete Jewish Bible
But after he had gone, a lion encountered the man of God on the road and killed him. His corpse lay there in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing next to it.
Berean Standard Bible
As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
American Standard Version
And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his body was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the body.
World English Bible Messianic
When he had gone, a lion met him by the way and killed him. His body was cast on the path, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the body.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And when hee was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slewe him, and his body was cast in the way, and the asse stoode thereby: the lion stood by the corps also.
Young's Literal Translation
and he goeth, and a lion findeth him in the way, and putteth him to death, and his carcase is cast in the way, and the ass is standing near it, and the lion is standing near the carcase.
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Commentary on 1 Kings 13 verses 23–34
23 ¶ And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26 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.
27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
28 And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
30 And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
34 And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
Here is, I. The death of the deceived disobedient prophet. The old prophet that had deluded him, as if he would make him some amends for the wrong he had done him or help to prevent the mischief threatened him, furnished him with an ass to ride home on; but by the way a lion set upon him, and killed him, Kg1 13:23, Kg1 13:24. He did but return back to refresh himself when he was hungry, and behold he must die for it; see Sa1 14:43. But we must consider, 1. That his offence was great, and it would by no means justify him that he was drawn into it by a lie; he could not be so certain of the countermand sent by another as he was of the command given to himself, nor had he any ground to think that the command would be recalled, when the reason of it remained in force, which was that he might testify his detestation of the wickedness of that place. He had great reason to suspect the honesty of this old prophet, who did not himself bear his testimony, nor did God think fit to make use of him as a witness against the idolatry of the city he lived in. However, he should have taken time to beg direction from God, and not have complied so soon. Did he think this old prophet's house safer to eat in than other houses at Beth-el, when God had forbidden him to eat in any? That was to refine upon the command, and make himself wiser than God. Did he think to excuse himself that he was hungry? Had he never read that man lives not by bread alone? 2. That his death was for the glory of God; for by this it appeared, (1.) That nothing is more provoking to him than disobedience to an express command, though in a small matter, which makes his proceedings against our first parents, for eating the forbidden fruit, the easier to be accounted for. (2.) That God is displeased at the sins of his own people, and no man shall be protected in disobedience by the sanctity of his profession, the dignity of his office, his nearness to God, or any good services he has done for him. Perhaps God by this intended, in a way of righteous judgment, to harden Jeroboam's heart, since he was not reformed by the withering of his hand; for he would be apt to make a bad use of it, and to say that the prophet was well enough served for meddling with his altar, he had better have staid at home; any, he would say that Providence had punished him for his insolence, and the lion had done that which his withered hand might not do. However, by this God intended to warn all those whom he employs strictly to observe their orders, at their peril.
II. The wonderful preservation of his dead body, which was a token of God's mercy remembered in the midst of wrath. The lion that gently strangled him, or tore him, did not devour his dead body, nor so much as tear the ass, Kg1 13:24, Kg1 13:25, Kg1 13:26. Nay, what was more, he did not set upon the travellers that passed by and saw it, nor upon the old prophet (who had reason enough to fear it) when he came to take up the corpse. His commission was to kill the prophet; hitherto he should go, but no further. Thus God showed that, though he was angry with him, his anger was turned away, and the punishment went no further than death.
III. The care which the old prophet took of his burial. When he heard of this unusual accident, he concluded it was the man of God, who was disobedient to his Master (and whose fault was that?), therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion, Kg1 13:26. It would well have become him to ask why the lion was not sent against him and his house, rather than against the good man whom he had cheated. He took up the corpse, Kg1 13:29. If there by any truth in the vulgar opinion, surely the corpse bled afresh when he touched it, for he was in effect the murderer, and it was but a poor reparation for the injury to inter the dead body. Perhaps when he cheated him into his ruin he intended to laugh at him; yet now his conscience so far relents that he weeps over him, and, like Joab at Abner's funeral, is compelled to be a mourner for him whom he had been the death of. They said, Alas! my brother, Kg1 13:30. The case was indeed very lamentable that so good a man, a prophet so faithful, and so bold in God's cause, should, for one offence, die as a criminal, while an old lying prophet lives at ease and an idolatrous prince in pomp and power. Thy way, O God! is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters. We cannot judge of men by their sufferings, nor of sins by their present punishments; with some the flesh is destroyed that the spirit may be saved, while with others the flesh is pampered that the soul may ripen for hell.
IV. The charge which the old prophet gave his sons concerning his own burial, that they should be sure to bury him in the same grave where the man of God was buried (Kg1 13:3): "Lay my bones beside his bones, close by them, as near as may be, so that my dust may mingle with his." Though he was a lying prophet, yet he desired to die the death of a true prophet. "Gather not my soul with the sinners of Beth-el, but with the man of God." The reason he gives is because what he cried against the altar of Beth-el, that men's bones should be burnt upon it, shall surely come to pass, Kg1 13:32. Thus, 1. He ratifies the prediction, that out of the mouth of two witnesses (and one of them such a one as St. Paul quotes, Tit 1:12, one of themselves, even a prophet of their own) the word might be established, if possible to convince and reclaim Jeroboam. 2. He does honour to the deceased prophet, as one whose word would not fall to the ground, though he did. Ministers die, die prematurely it may be; but the word of the Lord endures for ever, and does not die with them. 3. He consults his own interest. It was foretold that men's bones should be burnt upon Jeroboam's altar: "Lay mine (says he) close to his, and then they will not be disturbed;" and it was, accordingly, their security, as we find, Kg2 23:18. Sleeping and waking, living and dying, it is safe being in good company. No mention is made here of the inscription on the prophet's tomb; but it is spoken of Kg2 23:17, where Josiah asks, What title is that? and is told, It is the sepulchre of the man of God that came from Judah, who proclaimed these things which thou hast done; so that the epitaph upon the prophet's grave preserved the remembrance of his prophecy, and was a standing testimony against the idolatries of Beth-el, which it would not have been so remarkably if he had died and been buried elsewhere. The cities of Israel are here called cities of Samaria, though that name was not yet known; for, however the old prophet spoke, the inspired historian wrote in the language of his own time.
V. The obstinacy of Jeroboam in his idolatry (Kg1 13:33): He returned not from his evil way; some hand was found that durst repair the altar God had rent, and then Jeroboam offered sacrifice on it again, and the more boldly because the prophet who disturbed him before was in his grave (Rev 11:10) and because the prophecy was for a great while to come. Various methods had been used to reclaim him, but neither threats nor signs, neither judgments nor mercies, wrought upon him, so strangely was he wedded to his calves. He did not reform, no, not his priesthood, but whoever would, he filled his hand, and made him priest, though ever so illiterate or immoral, and of what tribe soever; and this became sin, that is, a snare first, and then a ruin, to Jeroboam's house, to cut if off, Kg1 13:34. Note, The diminution, disquiet, and desolation of families, are the fruit of sin; he promised himself that the calves would secure the crown to his family, but it proved they lost it, and sunk his family. Those betray themselves that think by any sin to support themselves.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 23–34. Public domain.
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Augustine of HippoAD 430
On the Care of the Dead 7.9
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.”
John CassianAD 435
CONFERENCE 7.25-26
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.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
DIALOGUE 4.24-25
It is written in the Scriptures, “But the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest.” What, then, does it matter to the just if they undergo harsh treatment at death, since they are on their way to eternal life? Sometimes, perhaps, it is a fault of theirs, slight though it be, that has to be expiated by such a death. For this reason the reprobate are given power over the just while they are still alive. But, once the just have died, the wicked are punished all the more severely because of the cruel power they exercised against holy people. This is demonstrated in the case of the barbarian who was permitted by God to strike down the deacon but was not allowed to rejoice over his death. It is also verified in holy Scripture. The man of God, for instance, who was sent to Samaria stopped on the way for a meal, contrary to God’s command. For this disobedience he was killed by a lion. But Scripture at once adds that the donkey and the lion were standing by the dead prophet, and “the lion had not eaten of the dead body.” From this passage we see that the sin of disobedience was atoned for by his death, because the lion attacked the living prophet and killed him, yet did not dare touch him once he was dead. God allowed the beast to kill, but not to eat of its kill, because the prophet, though blameworthy in life, was sanctified in the death he suffered as a punishment for his disobedience. In the first instance the lion took away the life of a sinner; in the second he stood guard over the body of a just man.
Ishodad of MervAD 850
BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 13:24-28
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 God’s order. And this was done in order that Jeroboam and his priests might understand that, if this had happened to the prophet just because he had eaten, something extremely more serious would happen to those who made offerings to the idols.
Richard ChallonerAD 1781
Killed him: Thus the Lord often punishes his servants here, that he may spare them hereafter. For the generality of divines are of opinion, that the sin of this prophet, considered with all its circumstances, was not mortal.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
1 Kings 13:24 vividly portrays the swift and unsparing divine judgment upon the unnamed man of God from Judah. Despite his initial faithfulness and prophetic commission, he tragically succumbed to deception and directly disobeyed the Lord's explicit command. This stark incident serves as a powerful testament to the absolute seriousness with which God regards obedience to His revealed word, underscoring that even those specially chosen for His service are not exempt from the severe consequences of direct transgression, particularly when it involves a clear violation of divine instruction.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The account in 1 Kings 13:24 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its profound theological message. Irony is prominent, as the very prophet who deceived the man of God later delivers the true word of judgment, and the man of God, who initially refused hospitality from a king based on divine command, is ultimately killed by a lion after accepting hospitality based on a lie. Symbolism is also heavily at play, particularly with the lion. While a real animal, its behavior is entirely symbolic: it acts not as a wild beast but as a controlled agent of divine judgment, representing God's swift and unyielding justice against disobedience. The undisturbed presence of the ass and the lion standing together by the body creates a stark visual symbol of Divine Intervention and Supernatural Control, emphasizing that this was no accident but a divinely orchestrated execution of judgment. The scene is a powerful tableau, frozen in time, designed to leave an indelible impression of God's holiness and the gravity of His commands, serving as a public warning.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The death of the man of God in 1 Kings 13:24 serves as a profound theological statement on the nature of God's holiness, His absolute authority, and the non-negotiable demand for obedience from those who represent Him. It underscores that God's word is paramount and cannot be trifled with, even under duress or deception. The severity of the judgment, despite the man of God's initial faithfulness and the mitigating factor of deception, highlights that God's commands are not arbitrary suggestions but divine decrees, and their violation carries serious consequences. This narrative reinforces the concept that God's justice is unwavering, and His standards are not lowered for convenience or external pressure. It also implicitly teaches the importance of discerning spiritual truth and holding fast to direct revelation from God, rather than being swayed by external voices, even those claiming divine authority, if they contradict a clear prior command.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The tragic account of the man of God from Judah in 1 Kings 13:24 offers a sobering and timeless lesson for all believers. It challenges us to examine the depth of our commitment to God's clear word and to cultivate a robust spiritual discernment that prioritizes divine truth above all else. In a world filled with competing voices, both secular and religious, this narrative calls us to anchor ourselves firmly in the revealed Scriptures, recognizing that God's commands are for our good and His glory. It reminds us that while God is merciful and gracious, He is also holy and just, and He expects faithful obedience from His children, especially those called to ministry. We must be vigilant against deception, testing every spirit and every message against the unchanging standard of God's written word, rather than relying on subjective experiences or the words of others, no matter how seemingly spiritual. Our obedience is not merely a legalistic duty but an act of worship and trust in the One who knows what is best for us and whose word is eternally true.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why was the judgment so severe for seemingly one act of disobedience, especially since he was deceived?
Answer: The severity of the judgment underscores several critical truths. Firstly, the man of God was a prophet, a direct messenger of God, and thus held to a higher standard of accountability (Luke 12:48). His disobedience was not merely a personal failing but a public undermining of the very authority of God's word he was sent to proclaim, particularly in a context where Jeroboam's idolatry was already challenging divine authority. Secondly, God had given him an explicit and personal command not to eat or drink in Bethel (1 Kings 13:9). While he was deceived, his failure lay in prioritizing a secondary, unverified "word from an angel" over the direct, clear word he had personally received from God. This highlights the danger of spiritual gullibility and the necessity of testing all supposed revelations against established divine truth, as warned in 1 John 4:1). The public and dramatic nature of his death served as a powerful object lesson for Israel, demonstrating God's unwavering holiness and the serious consequences of disobedience, even for His chosen servants.
What is the significance of the lion not devouring the body and the ass standing peacefully by?
Answer: This unusual detail is crucial for demonstrating that the event was not a random act of nature but a divinely orchestrated judgment. Lions are predators, and their natural instinct would be to devour their prey and potentially attack the ass. The fact that the lion "stood by" the carcass without consuming it, and the ass remained unharmed beside both the lion and the body, points to a supernatural control over the animals. This miraculous restraint served as an undeniable sign to anyone passing by that this was an act of God, not an accident. It prevented the man of God's body from being desecrated or consumed, ensuring it remained a visible testimony to God's judgment and leaving no doubt about the divine hand in his death. This preserved the integrity of the message, confirming that the man of God died because of his disobedience to the Lord, not from a mere wild animal attack, thereby magnifying God's sovereignty and the gravity of His commands.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The tragic account of the man of God from Judah, marked by his fatal disobedience, stands in stark contrast to the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ. While the Old Testament prophet failed to uphold God's direct command, even under the guise of deception, Jesus perfectly fulfilled every aspect of the Father's will, even unto death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). The severe judgment meted out in 1 Kings 13:24 underscores the gravity of sin and the holiness of God, foreshadowing the ultimate judgment against sin that would be borne by the sinless Son of God. Jesus, the true Man of God and the ultimate Prophet, did not succumb to temptation or deception, even when faced with the ultimate test in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). His life of perfect obedience, culminating in His sacrificial death, offers the grace that the Old Covenant system, with its strict demands and severe penalties, could not fully provide. Through Christ, the consequences of our disobedience are not met with immediate, physical judgment but with an invitation to repentance and forgiveness, because the ultimate penalty was paid by the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Thus, the story of the disobedient prophet serves as a powerful backdrop, highlighting the profound need for, and the glorious provision of, Christ's perfect obedience and atoning sacrifice for humanity, offering a path to life where disobedience once brought death.