Bible Strands
1 Kings 13:2
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.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — A man of God from Judah stands before Jeroboam at the Bethel altar and proclaims a divine judgment against it. The announcement occurs precisely while Jeroboam is positioned to burn incense on the structure.
The words — The repetition מִזְבֵּ֣חַ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ (miz.be.ach miz.be.ach) functions as an emphatic vocative, literally rendering "O altar, O altar." The verb וַ/יִּקְרָ֤א (va/i.yik.ra') conveys a formal, public proclamation rather than a casual utterance.
The thread — The text explicitly forecasts Josiah’s future desecration of the site, which 2 Kings 23:15–16 records as the tearing down of the altar and the burning of human bones upon it. The prophecy directly interrupts the cultic act described in 1 Kings 13:1 and is immediately confirmed by the splitting sign in 1 Kings 13:3.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to recognize that prophetic declarations operate independently of current religious activity and will be fulfilled on God’s timeline. It demands attention to the specific details of divine judgment rather than treating the oracle as generic warning.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
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.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 23:15 He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole.
- 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.
- 2 Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.
- Jeremiah 22:29 O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!
- Deuteronomy 32:1 Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- 1 Kings 13:32 for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.”
- 2 Chronicles 34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.
- 2 Chronicles 34:4 Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
- Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
- Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”