1 Raja-raja 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.

[13:18]  ¹ tn Heb “and he said to him.”

[13:18]  ² tn Heb “by the word of the Lord.”

[13:18]  ³ tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”

[13:18]  ⁴ tn Or “deceiving him.”

[13:18]  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.

[13:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he returned with him and ate food in his house and drank water.”

[13:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.”

[13:21]  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.

[13:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord.”