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Literal Standard Version

1 Kings 13:2

and he calls against the altar, by the word of YHWH, and says, "Altar! Altar! Thus said YHWH: Behold, a son is born to the house of David—Josiah [is] his name—and he has sacrificed on you the priests of the high places who are making incense on you, and bones of man are burned on you."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Beth-El;   Calf;   Intercession;   Jeroboam;   Josiah;   Judgments;   Prophecy;   Reproof;   Rulers;   Thompson Chain Reference - Births Foretold;   Children;   Home;   Idolatrous;   Israel;   Israel-The Jews;   Josiah;   Kings of Israel;   Leaders;   Manifestations, Special Divine;   Mysteries-Revelations;   Priests;   Religious;   Signs Given;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Calves of Jeroboam;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Iddo;   Josiah;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Jeroboam;   Josiah;   Prophecy, prophet;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Jeroboam;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Jeroboam;   Prophet;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   High Place;   Jeroboam;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Jadon;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Bethel ;   Josiah ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Josiah;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Law of Moses;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Jeroboam;   Prophecy;   Prophets;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cremation;   High Place;   Josiah;   Old Prophet, the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Cremation;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The man of God cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord: “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says, ‘A son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’”
Hebrew Names Version
He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, altar, altar, thus says the LORD: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Yoshiyahu by name; and on you shall he sacrifice the Kohanim of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall they burn on you.
King James Version
And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord , and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord ; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
English Standard Version
And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the Lord : ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'"
New Century Version
The Lord had commanded the man of God to speak against the altar. The man said, "Altar, altar, the Lord says to you: ‘David's family will have a son named Josiah. The priests for the places of worship now make their sacrifices on you, but Josiah will sacrifice those priests on you. Human bones will be burned on you.'"
New English Translation
With the authority of the Lord he cried out against the altar, "O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.'"
Amplified Bible
The man cried out against the [idolatrous] altar by the word of the LORD, "O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice [the bodies of] the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'"
New American Standard Bible
And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, "Altar, altar, this is what the LORD says: 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.'"
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he cryed against the altar by the comandement of the Lorde, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Beholde, a child shalbe borne vnto the house of Dauid, Iosiah by name, and vpon thee shall he sacrifice the Priestes of the hie places that burne incense vpon thee, and they shall burne mens bones vpon thee.
Legacy Standard Bible
And he cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said, "O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah is his name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'"
Complete Jewish Bible
And by the word from Adonai he cried out against the altar: "Altar, altar, here is what Adonai says: ‘A son will be born to the house of David; his name will be Yoshiyahu; and on you he will sacrifice the cohanim of the high places who burn incense on you! They will burn human bones on you!'"
Darby Translation
And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee.
Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord had commanded the man of God to speak against the altar. He said, "Altar, the Lord says to you: ‘David's family will have a son. His name will be Josiah. The priests of the high places are now burning incense on you, but Josiah will offer the priests on you and burn human bones on you, so you can never be used again!'"
George Lamsa Translation
And the prophet cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, hear the word of the LORD, thus says the LORD: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon you he shall offer the priests of the temples of idols who burn incense upon you, and mens bones shall be burnt upon you.
Good News Translation
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."
Lexham English Bible
Then he proclaimed against the altar by the word of Yahweh and said, "O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: ‘Look, a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.'"
Literal Translation
And he cried against the altar, by the Word of Jehovah, and said, Altar! Altar! So says Jehovah, Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, his name Josiah, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you, and they shall burn the bones of man on you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he cried agaynst the altare thorow the worde of the LORDE, and sayde: O altar, altar, thus sayeth the LORDE: Beholde, there shal be borne vnto ye house of Dauid a sonne, Iosias by name which on the shal offer the prestes of the hye places, that burne incense vpon the, and mens bones shal he burne on the.
American Standard Version
And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon thee.
Bible in Basic English
And by the order of the Lord he made an outcry against the altar, saying, O altar, altar, the Lord has said, From the seed of David will come a child, named Josiah, and on you he will put to death the priests of the high places, who are burning offerings on you, and men's bones will be burned on you.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he cried against the aulter in the worde of the Lorde, and sayd: O aulter aulter, thus sayeth the Lorde: Behold, a childe shall be borne vnto the house of Dauid, Iosia by name, and vpon thee shall he offer the priestes of the hill aulters that burnt incense vpon thee, and mens bones shalbe burnt vpon thee.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said: 'O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon thee.'
King James Version (1611)
And hee cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Behold, a child shalbe borne vnto the house of Dauid, Iosiah by name, and vpon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burne incense vpon thee, and mens bones shall bee burnt vpon thee.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Behold, a son is to be born to the house of David, Josias by name; and he shall offer upon thee the priests of the high places, even of them that sacrifice upon thee, and he shall burn men’s bones upon thee.
English Revised Version
And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall they burn upon thee.
Berean Standard Bible
And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, "O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.'"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And `the man of God criede ayens the auter, bi the word of the Lord, and seide, Auter! auter! the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! a sone, Josias by name, shal be borun to the hows of Dauid; and he schal offre on thee the preestis of hiye thingis, that brennen now encensis yn thee, and he schal brenne the bonys of men on thee.
Young's Literal Translation
and he calleth against the altar, by the word of Jehovah, and saith, `Altar! altar! thus said Jehovah, Lo, a son is born to the house of David -- Josiah his name -- and he hath sacrificed on thee the priests of the high places who are making perfume on thee, and bones of man are burnt on thee.'
Update Bible Version
And he cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said, O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: Look, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense on you, and man's bones they shall burn on you.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he cried 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, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
World English Bible
He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said, altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall they burn on you.
New King James Version
Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: "Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall be burned on you."'
New Living Translation
Then at the Lord 's command, he shouted, "O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you."
New Life Bible
The man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, "O altar, altar, this is what the Lord says. ‘See, a son will be born to the family of David. His name will be Josiah. On you he will burn the religious leaders of the high places who burn special perfume on you. Human bones will be burned on you.'"
New Revised Standard
and proclaimed against the altar by the word of the Lord , and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the Lord : ‘A son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he made proclamation against the altar, by the word of Yahweh, and said, O altar! altar! Thus, saith Yahweh, - Lo! a son to be born unto the house of David, Josiah his name, who shall sacrifice upon thee the priests of the high-places, who are making a perfume upon thee, and, human bones, shall be burned upon thee;
Douay-Rheims Bible
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.
Revised Standard Version
And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josi'ah by name; and he shall sacrifice upon you the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and men's bones shall be burned upon you.'"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the LORD, 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'"

Contextual Overview

1And behold, a man of God has come from Judah, by the word of YHWH, to Beth-El, and Jeroboam is standing by the altar—to make incense; 2and he calls against the altar, by the word of YHWH, and says, "Altar! Altar! Thus said YHWH: Behold, a son is born to the house of David—Josiah [is] his name—and he has sacrificed on you the priests of the high places who are making incense on you, and bones of man are burned on you."3And he has given a sign on that day, saying, "This [is] the sign that YHWH has spoken, Behold, the altar is torn, and the ashes that [are] on it [are] poured forth." 4And it comes to pass, at the king's hearing the word of the man of God that he calls against the altar in Beth-El, that Jeroboam puts forth his hand from off the altar, saying, "Catch him"; and his hand that he has put forth against him is dried up, and he is not able to bring it back to himself, 5and the altar is torn, and the ashes [are] poured forth from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of YHWH. 6And the king answers and says to the man of God, "Please appease the face of your God YHWH, and pray for me, and my hand comes back to me"; and the man of God appeases the face of YHWH, and the hand of the king comes back to him, and it is as at the beginning. 7And the king speaks to the man of God, "Come in with me to the house, and refresh yourself, and I give a gift to you." 8And the man of God says to the king, "If you give to me the half of your house, I do not go in with you, nor do I eat bread, nor do I drink water, in this place; 9for so He commanded me by the word of YHWH, saying, You do not eat bread nor drink water, nor return in the way that you have come." 10And he goes on in another way, and has not turned back in the way in which he came in to Beth-El.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

O altar: Deuteronomy 32:1, Isaiah 1:2, Isaiah 58:1, Jeremiah 22:29, Ezekiel 36:1, Ezekiel 36:4, Ezekiel 38:4, Luke 19:40

Josiah by name: 2 Kings 22:1, 2 Kings 22:2, 2 Kings 23:15-18, 2 Chronicles 34:1, 2 Chronicles 34:4-7, Isaiah 42:9, Isaiah 44:26-28, Isaiah 46:10, Isaiah 48:5-7

offer: 2 Kings 23:15-17

Reciprocal: Leviticus 10:1 - put incense Leviticus 26:30 - I will destroy 1 Kings 13:32 - the saying 1 Kings 20:35 - in the word 2 Kings 2:2 - Bethel 2 Kings 17:23 - as he had said 2 Kings 17:27 - one of the priests 2 Kings 23:16 - burned 2 Kings 23:20 - he slew 2 Chronicles 34:5 - he Ecclesiastes 3:2 - time to be born Isaiah 7:2 - the house Jeremiah 8:1 - General Ezekiel 6:4 - and I Ezekiel 37:4 - Prophesy Hosea 10:8 - their altars Amos 3:14 - I will Matthew 1:10 - Josias

Cross-References

Genesis 13:1
And Abram goes up from Egypt (he and his wife, and all that he has, and Lot with him) toward the south;
Genesis 13:3
And he goes on his journeys from the south, even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the commencement, between Bethel and Hai—
Genesis 13:9
Is not all the land before you? Please be parted from me; if to the left, then I to the right; and if to the right, then I to the left."
Genesis 13:10
And Lot lifts up his eyes, and sees the whole circuit of the Jordan that it [is] all a watered country (before YHWH's destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, as YHWH's garden, as the land of Egypt), in your coming toward Zoar,
Genesis 13:12
Abram has dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot has dwelt in the cities of the circuit, and moves [his] tent to Sodom;
Genesis 13:13
and the men of Sodom [are] evil, and sinners before YHWH exceedingly.
Genesis 24:35
and YHWH has blessed my lord exceedingly, and he is great; and He gives to him flock, and herd, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and donkeys;
Deuteronomy 8:18
And you have remembered your God YHWH, for it [is] He who is giving power to you to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He has sworn to your fathers, as [at] this day.
1 Samuel 2:7
YHWH dispossesses, and He makes rich, || He makes low, indeed, He makes high.
Job 1:3
and his substance is seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred pairs of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and a very abundant service; and that man is greater than any of the sons of the east.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord,.... By his order and command:

and said, O altar, altar; addressing himself not to Jeroboam, but the altar, thereby reproving his stupidity, the altar being as ready to hear as he; and because that was what moved the indignation of the Lord; and the word is repeated, to show the vehemency of the prophet's spirit, and his zeal against it; though the Jews commonly say it respects both altars, that at Dan, as well as this at Bethel:

thus saith the Lord, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; who was not born until three hundred years after this, according to the Jewish writers a: but it is generally reckoned to be more, even three hundred and fifty or three hundred and sixty years; this is a clear proof of the prescience, predetermination, and providence of God with respect to future events, contingent ones, such as depend upon the will of men; for what more so than giving a name to a child?

upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee; all which was fulfilled by Josiah, 2 Kings 23:15, it may be read, "the bones of a man", which the Jews understand of Jeroboam; but may only signify that, instead of the bones of beasts, which were burnt on it, the bones of men should be burnt, and even of the priests themselves; a glaring proof this of the truth of prophecy, and of divine revelation.

a Pirke Eliezer, c. 17.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A child shall be born ... Josiah by name - Divine predictions so seldom descend to such particularity as this, that doubts are entertained, even by orthodox theologians, with respect to the actual mention of Josiah’s name by a prophet living in the time of Jeroboam. Only one other instance that can be considered parallel occurs in the whole of Scripture - the mention of Cyrus by Isaiah. Of course no one who believes in the divine foreknowledge can doubt that God could, if He chose, cause events to be foretold minutely by his prophets; but certainly the general law of his Providence is, that He does not do so. If this law is to be at any time broken through, it will not be capriciously. Here it certainly does not appear what great effect was to be produced by the mention of Josiah’s name so long before his birth; and hence, a doubt arises whether we have in our present copies the true original text. The sense is complete without the words “Josiah by name;” and these words, if originally a marginal note, may easily have crept into the text by the mistake of a copyist. It is remarkable that, where this narrative is again referred to in Kings (marginal reference), there is no allusion to the fact that the man of God had prophesied of Josiah “by name.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 13:2. He cried against the altar — He denounced the destruction of this idolatrous system.

A child shall be born - Josiah by name — This is one of the most remarkable and most singular prophecies in the Old Testament. It here most circumstantially foretells a fact which took place three hundred and forty years after the prediction; a fact which was attested by the two nations. The Jews, in whose behalf this prophecy was delivered, would guard it most sacredly; and it was the interest of the Israelites, against whom it was levelled, to impugn its authenticity and expose its falsehood, had this been possible. This prediction not only showed the knowledge of God, but his power. He gave, as it were, this warning to idolatry, that it might be on its guard, and defend itself against this Josiah whenever a person of that name should be found sitting on the throne of David; and no doubt it was on the alert, and took all prudent measures for its own defence; but all in vain, for Josiah, in the eighteenth year of his reign, literally accomplished this prophecy, as we may read, 2 Kings 23:15-20. And from this latter place we find that the prophecy had three permanent testimonials of its truth.

1. The house of Israel;

2. The house of Judah; and,

3. The tomb of the prophet who delivered this prophecy, who, being slain by a lion, was brought back and buried at Beth-el, the superscription on whose tomb remained till the day on which Josiah destroyed that altar, and burnt dead men's bones upon it.

See above, verses 16-18. 2 Kings 23:16-18


 
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