1 Kings 13:18-21

13:18 The old prophet then said, ¹  “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority, ²  ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.’” ³  But he was lying to him. ⁴  13:19 So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house. ⁵ 

13:20 While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet ⁶  13:21 and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You ⁷  have rebelled against the Lord ⁸  and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you.

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¹ tn Heb “and he said to him.”

² tn Heb “by the word of the Lord.”

³ tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”

⁴ tn Or “deceiving him.”

sn He was lying to him. The motives and actions of the old prophet are difficult to understand. The old man’s response to the prophet’s death (see vv. 26-32) suggests he did not trick him with malicious intent. The old prophet probably wanted the honor of entertaining such a celebrity, or perhaps simply desired some social interaction with a fellow prophet.

⁵ tn Heb “and he returned with him and ate food in his house and drank water.”

⁶ tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 21-22 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 21-22a) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 22b). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.

⁸ tn Heb “the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord.”