¹Suddenly, 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. ²And 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.’” ³That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’” ⁴Now when King Jeroboam, who was at the altar in Bethel, heard the word that the man of God had cried out against it, he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward him withered, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. ⁶Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” ⁷Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” ⁸But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your possessions, I still would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹For 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.’” ¹⁰So the man of God went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.