3. That same day the man of God spoke about a miraculous sign. He said, "Here is the sign the Lord has announced. This altar will be broken to pieces. The ashes on it will be spilled out."
4. The man of God announced that message against the altar at Bethel. When King Jeroboam heard it, he reached out his hand from the altar. He said, "Grab him!" But as he reached out his hand toward the man, it dried up. He couldn't even pull it back.
5. Also, the altar broke into pieces. Its ashes spilled out. That happened in keeping with the miraculous sign the man of God had announced. He had received a message from the Lord.
6. King Jeroboam spoke to the man of God. He said, "Pray to the Lord your God for me. Pray that my hand will be as good as new again." So the man of God prayed to the Lord for the king. And the king's hand became as good as new. It was just as healthy as it had been before.
7. The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me. Have something to eat. I'll give you a gift."
8. But the man of God replied to the king. He said, "What if you were to give me half of what you own? Even then I wouldn't go with you. I wouldn't eat bread or drink water here.
9. The Lord gave me a command. He said, 'Do not eat bread or drink water there. Do not return the same way you came.' "
10. So he took another road. He didn't go back on the same road he had taken when he came to Bethel.
11. An old prophet was living in Bethel. His sons came and spoke to him. They told him everything the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king.
12. Their father asked them, "Which way did he go?" His sons showed him the road the man of God from Judah had taken.
13. So he said to his sons, "Put a saddle on the donkey for me." When they had done it, he got on the donkey.
14. He traveled on the same road the man of God had taken. He found the man sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" "I am," he replied.
15. So the prophet said to him, "Come home with me. I'll give you something to eat."
16. The man of God said, "I can't go back to Bethel with you. I can't eat bread or drink water with you there.
17. I've received a message from the Lord. He told me, 'Do not eat bread or drink water there. Do not return the same way you came.' "
18. The old prophet answered, "I'm also a prophet, just like you. An angel gave me a message from the Lord. The message said, 'Bring the man of God back with you to your house. Then he can eat bread and drink water with you.' " But the old prophet was telling him a lie.
19. The man of God returned with him. He ate and drank in his house.
20. They were sitting at the table. The Lord gave a message to the old prophet who had brought the man of God back.