New King James Version
1 Kings 13:2
2Then 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.’ ”
1 Kings 13:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’ ”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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 Living Translation (NLT)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.”
Context of 1 Kings 13:2
1And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 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.’ ” 3And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.” 4So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself.
Read all of 1 Kings 131 Kings 13:2 word by word
וַיִּקְרָ֤א עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ בִּדְבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ מִזְבֵּ֣חַ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה הִנֵּֽה־בֵ֞ן נוֹלָ֤ד לְבֵית־דָּוִד֙ יֹאשִׁיָּ֣הוּ שְׁמ֔וֹ וְזָבַ֣ח עָלֶ֗יךָ אֶת־כֹּהֲנֵ֤י הַבָּמוֹת֙ הַמַּקְטִרִ֣ים עָלֶ֔יךָ וְעַצְמ֥וֹת אָדָ֖ם יִשְׂרְפ֥וּ עָלֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he criedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
- against the altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- in the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Behold, a childבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- shall be bornיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- unto the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
- Josiahיֹאשִׁיָּ֫הוּyô'shîyâh yô'shîyâhû · JosiahH2977
- by nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- and upon thee shall he offerזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
- the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- of the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
- that burn incenseקָטַרqâţar · to offer: offerH6999
- upon thee, and men’sאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- bonesעֶ֫צֶם‛etsem · boneH6106
- shall be burntשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
Cross-references for 1 Kings 13:2
- Deuteronomy 32:1“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- Isaiah 1:2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;
- Isaiah 58:1“Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.
- Jeremiah 22:29O earth, earth, earth, Hear the word of the Lord!
- Ezekiel 36:1“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord!
- Ezekiel 38:4I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.
- Luke 19:40But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
- 2 Kings 22:1Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.
- 2 Kings 23:15Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image.
- 2 Chronicles 34:1Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 42:9Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
- Isaiah 44:26Who confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’ To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’ And I will raise up her waste places;
- Isaiah 46:10Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’
- Isaiah 48:5Even from the beginning I have declared it to you; Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you, Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, And my carved image and my molded image Have commanded them.’
Commentaries on 1 Kings 13:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2He 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2A 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-10The story of the unnamed man of God who spoke against Jeroboam’s false altar at Bethel shows the authority of God’s word. This prophecy even gave a personal name connected with an event that would happen much later (2 Kings 23:15–20). Other examples are Isaiah’s prophecy of Cyrus as a future ruler (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1) and Micah’s prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Prophecies like these give assurance that God is in control…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-92-9. he cried against the altar--which is put for the whole system of worship organized in Israel. Behold, a child shall be born ... Josiah by name--This is one of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Scriptures; and, in its clearness, circumstantial minuteness, and exact prediction of an event that took place three hundred sixty years later, it stands in striking contrast to the obscure and ambiguous oracles of the heathen. Being publicly…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 13:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries