Bible Strands
1 Kings 13:9
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.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet (the “man of God”) addresses the king of Israel in Bethel, responding to the monarch’s offer of wealth and hospitality by citing a direct divine prohibition.
The words — כֵּן (khen) = “thus,” and צִוָּה (tziwah) = “he commanded,” which frame the prophet’s declaration that his actions follow a direct divine order.
The thread — The theme of obeying God’s spoken word over physical sustenance appears in Job 23:12, while the call to act on known commands echoes John 13:17 and the call to abide in divine love appears in John 15:9.
Why it lands — The text commands strict adherence to a specific divine instruction, requiring the reader to prioritize explicit obedience over personal convenience or social expectation.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Job 23:12 I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
- John 13:17 If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
- John 15:9 As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love.
- John 15:14 You are My friends if you do what I command you.
- Romans 16:17 Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.
- Numbers 16:26 And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
- Deuteronomy 13:13 that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),
- 1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
- 1 Kings 13:1 Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.
- 1 Kings 13:21 and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment that the LORD your God gave you,