Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, August 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

1 Kings 13:9

The Lord has commanded me not to eat or drink a thing, and not to return home the same way I came."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Decision;   Fellowship;   Jeroboam;   Judgments;   Reproof;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Alliance and Society with the Enemies of God;   Diet of the Jews, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Iddo;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Jeroboam;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Jeroboam;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Jadon;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Bethel ;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Jeroboam;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Old Prophet, the;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
for this is what I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat food or drink water or go back the way you came.’”
Hebrew Names Version
for so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.
King James Version
For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord , saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
English Standard Version
for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord , saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.'"
New Century Version
The Lord commanded me not to eat or drink anything nor to return on the same road by which I came."
New English Translation
For the Lord gave me strict orders, ‘Do not eat or drink there and do not go home the way you came.'"
Amplified Bible
"For I was commanded by the word of the LORD, 'You shall not eat bread or drink water, nor shall you return by the way you came.'"
New American Standard Bible
"For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'You shall not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.'"
Geneva Bible (1587)
For so was it charged mee by the worde of the Lorde, saying, Eate no bread nor drinke water, nor turne againe by the same way that thou camest.
Legacy Standard Bible
For so it was commanded me by the word of Yahweh, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.'"
Contemporary English Version
The Lord said I can't eat or drink anything and that I can't go home the same way I came."
Complete Jewish Bible
For this is the order I received through the word of Adonai : ‘Don't eat food or drink water, and don't return by the road you took when you came.'"
Darby Translation
for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go.
Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord commanded me not to eat or drink anything here. He also commanded me not to go back the same way I came."
George Lamsa Translation
For so it was charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, and drink no water, nor return again by the way that you came.
Lexham English Bible
for the word of Yahweh has commanded me, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, and you shall not return on the way that you came.'"
Literal Translation
For so He commanded me by the Word of Jehovah, saying, You shall not eat bread nor drink water, nor turn back in the way that you have come.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For thus am I commaunded, and thus is it sayde vnto me by the worde of the LORDE: Thou shalt eate no bred, and drynke no water, nether returne the waye that thou wentest.
American Standard Version
for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest.
Bible in Basic English
For so I was ordered by the word of the Lord, who said, You are not to take food or a drink of water, and you are not to go back the way you came.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For so was it charged me through the word of the Lord, saying: Eate no bread nor drinke water, nor turne agayne by the same way that thou camest.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
For it so was charged me by the word of the LORD, saying: Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest.'
King James Version (1611)
For so was it charged mee by the word of the Lord, saying, Eate no bread, nor drinke water, nor turne again by the same way that thou camest.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Eat no bread, and drink no water, and return not by the way by which thou camest.
English Revised Version
for so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest.
Berean Standard Bible
For this is what I was commanded by the word of the LORD: 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.'"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
`for so it is comaundid to me bi the word of the Lord, comaundinge, Thou schalt not ete breed, nether thou schalt drynke water, nether thou schalt turne ayen bi the weie bi which thou camest.
Young's Literal Translation
for so He commanded me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water, nor turn back in the way that thou hast come.'
Update Bible Version
for so was it charged me by the word of Yahweh, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.
Webster's Bible Translation
For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
World English Bible
for so was it charged me by the word of Yahweh, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.
New King James Version
For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, "You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came."'
New Living Translation
For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.'"
New Life Bible
For the word of the Lord said to me, ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.'"
New Revised Standard
For thus I was commanded by the word of the Lord : You shall not eat food, or drink water, or return by the way that you came."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
for, so, he charged me, by the word of Yahweh, saying, Thou shalt not eat bread, nor shalt thou drink water, - neither shalt thou come back by the way thou wentest.
Douay-Rheims Bible
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.
Revised Standard Version
for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'You shall neither eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.'"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.'"

Contextual Overview

1 At the Lord 's command a prophet from Judah went to Bethel and arrived there as Jeroboam stood at the altar to offer the sacrifice. 2 Following the Lord 's command, the prophet denounced the altar: "O altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: A child, whose name will be Josiah, will be born to the family of David. He will slaughter on you the priests serving at the pagan altars who offer sacrifices on you, and he will burn human bones on you." 3 And the prophet went on to say, "This altar will fall apart, and the ashes on it will be scattered. Then you will know that the Lord has spoken through me." 4 When King Jeroboam heard this, he pointed at him and ordered, "Seize that man!" At once the king's arm became paralyzed so that he couldn't pull it back. 5 The altar suddenly fell apart and the ashes spilled to the ground, as the prophet had predicted in the name of the Lord . 6 King Jeroboam said to the prophet, "Please pray for me to the Lord your God, and ask him to heal my arm!" The prophet prayed to the Lord , and the king's arm was healed. 7 Then the king said to the prophet, "Come home with me and have something to eat. I will reward you for what you have done." 8 The prophet answered, "Even if you gave me half of your wealth, I would not go with you or eat or drink anything with you. 9 The Lord has commanded me not to eat or drink a thing, and not to return home the same way I came." 10 So he did not go back the same way he had come, but by another road.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

For: 1 Kings 13:1, 1 Kings 13:21, 1 Kings 13:22, 1 Samuel 15:22, Job 23:12, John 13:17, John 15:9, John 15:10, John 15:14

Eat no bread: Numbers 16:26, Deuteronomy 13:13-18, Psalms 141:4, Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11, Ephesians 5:11, 2 John 1:10, 2 John 1:11, Revelation 18:4

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 9:9 - I neither 1 Kings 13:16 - General 1 Kings 13:19 - General 1 Kings 13:26 - which he spake 1 Kings 18:4 - bread and water 1 Thessalonians 4:15 - by the

Cross-References

Genesis 13:8
Then Abram said to Lot, "We are relatives, and your men and my men shouldn't be quarreling.
Genesis 13:12
Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled among the cities in the valley and camped near Sodom,
Genesis 13:13
whose people were wicked and sinned against the Lord .
Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his camp and settled near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord .
Genesis 20:15
He said to Abraham, "Here is my whole land; live anywhere you like."
Genesis 34:10
Then you may stay here in our country with us; you may live anywhere you wish, trade freely, and own property."
Psalms 120:7
When I speak of peace, they are for war.
Romans 12:18
Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody.
1 Corinthians 6:7
The very fact that you have legal disputes among yourselves shows that you have failed completely. Would it not be better for you to be wronged? Would it not be better for you to be robbed?
Hebrews 12:14
Try to be at peace with everyone, and try to live a holy life, because no one will see the Lord without it.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord,.... The command of the Lord, by which he came to Bethel, and cried against the altar there, 1 Kings 13:1

saying, eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest: signifying that no communion was to be had with idolaters, nor any example to be set and followed; but the way to them, and to their idolatry, was to be shunned and avoided.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Eat no bread, nor drink water - The reason of the command is evident. The man of God was not to accept the hospitality of any dweller at Bethel, in order to show in a marked way, which men generally could appreciate, God’s abhorrence of the system which Jeroboam had “devised of his own heart.”

Nor turn again by the same way that thou camest - This command seems to have been given simply to test the obedience of the prophet by laying him under a positive as well as a moral obligation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 13:9. For so it was charged me - Eat no bread, c. — That is, Have no kind of communication with those idolaters. He was charged also not to return by the way that he came probably lest the account of what was done should have reached the ears of any of the people through whom he had passed, and he suffer inconveniences on the account, either by persecution from the idolaters, or from curious people delaying him, in order to cause him to give an account of the transactions which took place at Beth-el. This is a reason why he should not return by the same way; but what the reason of this part of the charge was, if not the above, is not easy to see.


 
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