1 Kings 13:11
New International Version
Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king.

New Living Translation
As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king.

English Standard Version
Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king.

Berean Standard Bible
Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words that the man had spoken to the king.

King James Bible
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.

New King James Version
Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

New American Standard Bible
Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they reported to their father.

NASB 1995
Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father.

NASB 1977
Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and recounted to him all the work which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they recounted to their father.

Amplified Bible
Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him everything that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

Christian Standard Bible
Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel. His son came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. His sons also told their father the words that he had spoken to the king.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel. His son came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. His sons also told their father the words that he had spoken to the king.

American Standard Version
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them also they told unto their father.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
One old Prophet was dwelling in Bayth Eil and his sons came and they related to him all the works that the Prophet of God did on that day in Bayth Eil, and his sons related to their father the word that he spoke to the King.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And there dwelt an old prophet in Baethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God did on that day in Baethel, and the words which he spoke to the king: and they turned the face of their father.

Contemporary English Version
At that time an old prophet lived in Bethel, and one of his sons told him what the prophet from Judah had said and done.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now a certain old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came to him and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: and they told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

English Revised Version
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them also they told unto their father.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
An old prophet was living in Bethel. His sons told him everything the man of God did in Bethel that day and the exact words he had spoken to the king. When they told their father,

Good News Translation
At that time there was an old prophet living in Bethel. His sons came and told him what the prophet from Judah had done in Bethel that day and what he had said to King Jeroboam.

International Standard Version
Now there was an old prophet who lived in Bethel, and his sons went to him and told him everything that the man of God had accomplished that day in Bethel, including the message that he had delivered to the king.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el, and the words which he had spoken unto the king, and they told them unto their father.

Literal Standard Version
And a certain aged prophet is dwelling in Beth-El, and his son comes and recounts to him every deed that the man of God has done today in Beth-El, the words that he has spoken to the king—indeed, they recount them to their father.

Majority Standard Bible
Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words that the man had spoken to the king.

New American Bible
There was an old prophet living in Bethel, whose son came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. When his sons repeated to their father the words the man of God had spoken to the king,

NET Bible
Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. When his sons came home, they told their father everything the prophet had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king.

New Revised Standard Version
Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel. One of his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words also that he had spoken to the king, they told to their father.

New Heart English Bible
Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. And they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

Webster's Bible Translation
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: the words which he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father.

World English Bible
Now an old prophet lived in Bethel, and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

Young's Literal Translation
And a certain aged prophet is dwelling in Beth-El, and his son cometh and recounteth to him all the deed that the man of God hath done to-day in Beth-El, the words that he hath spoken unto the king, -- yea, they recount them to their father.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Old Prophet and the Man of God
11Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words that the man had spoken to the king. 12“Which way did he go?” their father asked. And his sons showed him the way taken by the man of God, who had come from Judah.…

Cross References
1 Kings 13:10
So the man of God went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

1 Kings 13:12
"Which way did he go?" their father asked. And his sons showed him the way taken by the man of God, who had come from Judah.

1 Kings 13:25
And there were men passing by who saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported this in the city where the old prophet lived.

2 Kings 23:18
"Let him rest," said Josiah. "Do not let anyone disturb his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed, along with those of the prophet who had come from Samaria.


Treasury of Scripture

Now there dwelled an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father.

an old prophet

1 Kings 13:20,21
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: …

Numbers 23:4,5
And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram…

Numbers 24:2
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.

sons [heb] son

1 Timothy 3:5
(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

Jump to Previous
Bethel Beth-El Deeds Dwelt Prophet Words Works
Jump to Next
Bethel Beth-El Deeds Dwelt Prophet Words Works
1 Kings 13
1. Jeroboam's hand withers
6. and at the prayer of the prophet is restored
7. The prophet departs from Bethel
11. An old prophet brings him back
20. He is reproved by God
23. slain by a lion
26. buried by the old prophet
31. who confirms the prophecy
33. Jeroboam's obstinacy














(11) An old prophet in Bethel.--The narrative clearly implies--and, indeed, part of its most striking instructiveness depends on this--that this old prophet was not a mere pretender to prophetic inspiration, nor an apostate from the worship of Jehovah. Like Balaam, he united true prophetic gifts with a low worldliness of temper, capable on occasion of base subterfuge and deceit. Such union of elements, which should be utterly discordant, is only too characteristic of man's self-contradictory nature. He had thrown in his lot with Jeroboam's policy, which did not want plausible grounds of defence: in spite of this adhesion, he desired to continue still a prophet of the Lord, and to support the king's action by prophetic influence. It has been noticed that, after the maintenance of the idolatry of Beth-el, even the true prophets did not break off their ministry to the kingdom of Israel, and that, indeed, they never appeared in open hostility to that kingdom, till the introduction of Baal worship. But their case is altogether different from that of the old prophet. He deliberately supports the idolatry, and that by the worst of falsehoods--a falsehood in the name of God. They rebuke the sin (see 1Kings 14:9), but do not forsake their ministry to the sinner.

Verse 11. - Now there dwelt an old prophet [Heb. a certain (lit. one) old prophet. For this use of אֶחָד ( = τις) cf. 1 Kings 20:13; 1 Kings 19:4] at Bethel [It is at first somewhat surprising to find one of the prophetic order residing here, at the very seat and stronghold of the apostasy, especially after what we read in 2 Chronicles 11:13-16, that the priests and Levites, and it would seem all devout worshippers of the Lord God of Israel, had left the country, and had gone over to Rehoboam. For we cannot suppose that a sense of duty had kept this prophet at his post (see note on ver. 1). The fact that he remained, not only in the kingdom, but at its ecclesiastical capital; that he stood by without protest when the schism was being effected, and that, though not present himself at the sacrifice, he permitted his sons to be there, is a sufficient index to his character. It is quite possible that strong political sympathies had warped his judgment, and that he had persuaded himself that the policy of Jeroboam was necessitated by the division of the kingdom, which he knew to be from the Lord, and which one of his own order had foretold. Or it may be that, despite his better judgment, he had gone with his tribe and the majority of the nation, and now felt it difficult to withdraw from a false position. Or, finally, he may have taken the side of Jeroboam because of the greater honours and rewards that prince had to bestow (see on ver. 18). There is a striking similarity between his position and action and that of Balaam]; and his sons [The Heb. has son; The LXX., Syr., and Vulg., sons. It is quite true that a "very slight change in the Hebrew text would bring it into accordance with the Septuagint here" (Rawlinson, similarly Ewald), but it would be against sound principles of textual criticism to make it. It is much more likely that the LXX. and other versions have been altered already, and that the plural has been introduced here because it is uniformly found in the later narrative. "His son" (בִּנו), as the lectio ardua, is therefore to he retained. The use of the singular indicates that one of them was at first the principal speaker. Perhaps one hastened home with the news before the rest. The sons of the prophet are not to be confounded with "the sons (i.e., disciples) of the prophets" (2 Kings 2:3, 4, passim); not merely because "the latter would scarcely have witnessed the golden calf worship" (Bahr), but also because they would have been differently designated] came and told him all the works [Heb. work] that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they [observe the plural] told also to their father. [It is quite clear that the virtual excommunication which the man of God had pronounced had made as great an impression as the signs which he had showed. The interdict was a matter which came home to the Bethelites, as an affront to the whole community.]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now a certain
אֶחָד֙ (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

old
זָקֵ֔ן (zā·qên)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2205: Old

prophet
וְנָבִ֤יא (wə·nā·ḇî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5030: A spokesman, speaker, prophet

was living
יֹשֵׁ֖ב (yō·šêḇ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

in Bethel,
אֵ֑ל (’êl)
Preposition | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1008: Bethel -- 'house of God', a city in Ephraim, also a place in southern Judah

and his sons
בְנ֡וֹ (ḇə·nōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

came
וַיָּב֣וֹא (way·yā·ḇō·w)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

and told
וַיְסַפֶּר־ (way·sap·per-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5608: To count, recount, relate

him all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the deeds
הַמַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה (ham·ma·‘ă·śeh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4639: An action, a transaction, activity, a product, property

that
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

the man
אִישׁ־ (’îš-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

of God
הָאֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀ (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

had done
עָשָׂה֩ (‘ā·śāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

that day
הַיּ֜וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

in Bethel.
אֵ֗ל (’êl)
Preposition | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1008: Bethel -- 'house of God', a city in Ephraim, also a place in southern Judah

They also told
וַֽיְסַפְּר֖וּם (way·sap·pə·rūm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5608: To count, recount, relate

their father
לַאֲבִיהֶֽם׃ (la·’ă·ḇî·hem)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1: Father

the words
הַדְּבָרִים֙ (had·də·ḇā·rîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

that
אֲשֶׁ֣ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

[the man] had spoken
דִּבֶּ֣ר (dib·ber)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the king.
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king


Links
1 Kings 13:11 NIV
1 Kings 13:11 NLT
1 Kings 13:11 ESV
1 Kings 13:11 NASB
1 Kings 13:11 KJV

1 Kings 13:11 BibleApps.com
1 Kings 13:11 Biblia Paralela
1 Kings 13:11 Chinese Bible
1 Kings 13:11 French Bible
1 Kings 13:11 Catholic Bible

OT History: 1 Kings 13:11 Now there lived an old prophet (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 13:10
Top of Page
Top of Page