The Bible, Douay-Rheims Part 207

Bethel and Dan... Bethel was a city of the tribe of Ephraim in the southern part of the dominions of Jeroboam, about six leagues from Jerusalem; Dan was in the extremity of his dominions to the north in the confines of Syria.

12:30. And this thing became an occasion of sin: for the people went to adore the calf as far as Dan.

12:31. And he made temples in the high places, and priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

12:32. And he appointed a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, after the manner of the feast that was celebrated in Juda. And going up to the altar, he did in like manner in Bethel, to sacrifice to the calves, which he had made: and he placed in Bethel priests of the high places, which he had made.

12:33. And he went up to the altar, which he had built in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast to the children of Israel, and went up on the altar to burn incense.

3 Kings Chapter 13

A prophet sent from Juda to Bethel foretelleth the birth of Josias, and the destruction of Jeroboam's altar. Jeroboam's hand offering violence to the prophet withereth, but is restored by the prophet's prayer: the same prophet is deceived by another prophet, and slain by a lion.

13:1. And behold there came a man of G.o.d out of Juda, by the word of the Lord, to Bethel, when Jeroboam was standing upon the altar, and burning incense.

13:2. And he cried out against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said: O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold a child shall be born to the house of David, Josias by name, and he shall immolate upon thee the priests of the high places, who now burn incense upon thee, and he shall burn men's bones upon thee.

13:3. And he gave a sign the same day, saying: This shall be the sign, that the Lord hath spoken: Behold the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it, shall be poured out.

13:4. And when the king had heard the word of the man of G.o.d, which he had cried out against the altar in Bethel, he stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying: Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched forth against him, withered: and he was not able to draw it back again to him.

13:5. The altar also was rent, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of G.o.d had given before in the word of the Lord.

13:6. And the king said to the man of G.o.d: Entreat the face of the Lord thy G.o.d, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of G.o.d besought the face of the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before.

13:7. And the king said to the man of G.o.d: Come home with me to dine, and I will make thee presents.

13:8. And the man of G.o.d answered the king: If thou wouldst give me half thy house, I will not go with thee, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this place:

13:9. For so it was enjoined me by the word of the Lord commanding me: Thou shalt not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way that thou camest.

13:10. So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way that he came into Bethel.

13:11. Now a certain old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came to him, and told him all the works that the man of G.o.d had done that day in Bethel: and they told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

13:12. And their father said to them: What way went he? His sons shewed him the way by which the man of G.o.d went, who came out of Juda.

13:13. And he said to his sons: Saddle me the a.s.s. And when they had saddled it, he got up,

13:14. And went after the man of G.o.d, and found him sitting under a turpentine tree: and he said to him: Art thou the man of G.o.d who camest from Juda? He answered: I am.

13:15. And he said to him: Come home with me to eat bread.

13:16. But he said: I must not return, nor go with thee, neither will I eat bread, or drink water in this place:

13:17. Because the Lord spoke to me, in the word of the Lord, saying: Thou shalt not eat bread, and thou shalt not drink water there, nor return by the way thou wentest.

13:18. He said to him: I also am a prophet like unto thee: and an angel spoke to me, in the word of the Lord, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread, and drink water. He deceived him,

An angel spoke to me, etc... This old man of Bethel was indeed a prophet, but he sinned in thus deceiving the man of G.o.d; the more because he pretended a revelation for what he did.

13:19. And brought him back with him: so he ate bread, and drank water in his house.

13:20. And as they sat at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet that brought him back:

13:21. And he cried out to the man of G.o.d who came out of Juda, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast not been obedient to the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy G.o.d commanded thee,

13:22. And hast returned, and eaten bread, and drunk water in the place wherein he commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat bread, nor drink water, thy dead body shall not be brought into the sepulchre of thy fathers.

13:23. And when he had eaten and drunk, he saddled his a.s.s for the prophet, whom he had brought back.

13:24. And when he was gone, a lion found him in the way, and killed him, and his body was cast in the way: and the a.s.s stood by him, and the lion stood by the dead body.

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 circ.u.mstances, was not mortal.

13:25. And behold, men pa.s.sing by, saw the dead body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city, wherein that old prophet dwelt.

13:26. And when that prophet, who had brought him back out of the way, heard of it, he said: It is the man of G.o.d, that was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord, and the Lord hath delivered him to the lion, and he hath torn him, and killed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him.

13:27. And he said to his sons: Saddle me an a.s.s. And when they had saddled it,

13:28. And he was gone, he found the dead body cast in the way, and the a.s.s and the lion standing by the carca.s.s: the lion had not eaten of the dead body, nor hurt the a.s.s.

13:29. And the prophet took up the body of the man of G.o.d, and laid it upon the a.s.s, and going back brought it into the city of the old prophet, to mourn for him.

13:30. And he laid his dead body in his own sepulchre: and they mourned over him, saying: Alas! alas, my brother.

13:31. And when they had mourned over him, he said to his sons: When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of G.o.d is buried: lay my bones beside his bones.

13:32. For a.s.suredly the word shall come to pa.s.s which he hath foretold in the word of the Lord, against the altar that is in Bethel: and against all the temples of the high places, that are in the cities of Samaria.

13:33. After these words, Jeroboam came not back from his wicked way: but on the contrary, he made of the meanest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he filled his hand, and he was made a priest of the high places.

13:34. And for this cause did the house of Jeroboam sin, and was cut off, and destroyed from the face of the earth.

3 Kings Chapter 14

Ahias prophesieth the destruction of the family of Jeroboam. He dieth, and is succeeded by his son Nadab. The king of Egypt taketh and pillageth Jerusalem. Roboam dieth and his son Abiam succeedeth.

14:1. At that time Abia, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick.

14:2. And Jeroboam said to his wife: Arise, and change thy dress, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Silo, where Ahias, the prophet is, who told me that I should reign over this people.

14:3. Take also with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a pot of honey, and go to him: for he will tell thee what will become of this child.

14:4. Jeroboam's wife did as he told her: and rising up, went to Silo, and came to the house of Ahias; but he could not see, for his eyes were dim by reason of his age.

14:5. And the Lord said to Ahias: Behold the wife of Jeroboam cometh in, to consult thee concerning her son, that is sick: thus and thus shalt thou speak to her. So when she was coming in, and made as if she were another woman,