The Divided Kingdom

The other said to him, "I too am a prophet, just like you; and an angel spoke to me by the word of ADONAI and said, 'Bring him back with you to your house, so that he can eat food and drink water.'" But he was lying to him.

So he went back with him and did eat food and drink water in his house.

As they were sitting at the table, the word of ADONAI came to the prophet who had brought him back;

and he cried to the man of God who had come from Y'hudah, "Here is what ADONAI says: 'Since you rebelled against the word of ADONAI and didn't obey the mitzvah ADONAI your God gave you,

but came back and ate food and drank water in the place where he warned you not to eat food or drink water, your corpse will not arrive at the tomb of your ancestors."

After he had eaten food and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back.

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.

In time, people passed by and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing next to it; and they came and told about it in the city where the old prophet lived.

When the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard about it, he said, "It is the man of God who rebelled against the word of ADONAI; this is why ADONAI handed him over to the lion to tear him to pieces and kill him, in keeping with the word ADONAI spoke to him."

To his sons he said, "Saddle the donkey for me," and they saddled it.

He went and found his corpse lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing next to the corpse; the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey.

The prophet picked up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city where he lived, to mourn and bury him.

He laid the corpse in his own burial cave, and they mourned him - "Oh! My brother!"

After burying him he said to his sons, "When I die, put me in the burial cave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones next to his bones.

For the thing he cried by the word of ADONAI against the altar in Beit-El and against all the temples on the high places near the cities of Shomron will surely happen."

After this, Yarov'am did not turn back from his evil way but continued appointing cohanim for the high places from among all the people; he consecrated anyone who wanted to be a cohen of the high places.

This brought sin to the house of Yarov'am that would eventually cut it off and destroy it from the face of the earth.

At this time, Aviyah the son of Yarov'am fell ill.

Yarov'am said to his wife, "Please come, and disguise yourself, so that you won't be recognized as Yarov'am's wife, and go to Shiloh. Achiyah the prophet is there, the one who said that I would be king over these people.

Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes and a jug of honey; and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy."

Yarov'am's wife did this; she set out, went to Shiloh and arrived at the house of Achiyah. Now Achiyah could not see, because his eyes were dim with age.

ADONAI had told Achiyah, "Yarov'am's wife is on her way to you to ask about her son, who is ill. You are to tell her thus and thus; moreover, when she comes, she will be pretending she is another woman."

When Achiyah heard the sound of her feet as she came in the door, he said, "Enter, wife of Yarov'am! Why pretend you are someone else? I've been given bad news for you.

Go, tell Yarov'am that this is what ADONAI says: 'I raised you up from among the people, made you prince over my people Isra'el,

tore the kingdom away from the dynasty of David and gave it to you. In spite of this, you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my mitzvot and followed me with all his heart, so that he could do only what I regarded as right.