And the king in Beth-el said unto the man of God, “call now to the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God called upon the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him and became as it was before.
The king said to the man of God, “come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give you a reward.”
The man of God said to the king, “if you were to give me half your house even, I would not go in with you, nor shall I eat bread or drink water in this place, for so it was charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that you came.’”
So the man of God went another way, and did not return by the way that he came to Beth-el.
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: they also told their father the words which he had spoken unto the king.
Their father said unto them, “What way went he?” For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. He said to his sons, “Saddle me the donkey.” So they saddled him the donkey, and he rode upon it.
He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak, and the old prophet said to him, “Are you the man of God that came from Judah?” And he replied, “I am.”
Then the old prophet said to him, “Come home with me, and dine with me.”
And the man of God said, “I may not return with you, nor go into your house. Neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, for the word of the Lord said to me, ‘You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came.’”
The old prophet said to him, “I am a prophet also as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But the old prophet lied to him.
So the man of God went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back.
And the old prophet cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘For as much as you have disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, but came back, and ate bread and drank water in the place where the Lord told you, Eat no bread, and drink no water, your body shall not rest in the tomb of your fathers.’”
And it came to pass, after the man of God had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that the prophet who brought him back saddled a donkey for him.
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 donkey stood by it, the lion also stood by the body.
