1 Kings 13:2

¹ And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

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.

³ And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

⁴ And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: 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.’”
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.
WEB: He cried against the altar by the LORD’s word, and said, “Altar! Altar! The LORD says: ‘Behold, a son will be born to David’s house, Josiah by name. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men’s bones on you.’”
ASV: And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men`s bones shall they burn upon thee.
DARBY: And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee.
BLB: And he cried out against the altar by the word of YHWH, and he said, “O altar, O altar, thus says YHWH: ‘Behold, a child shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and bones of man shall be burned on you.’”

ÅB: Og han ropte på Herrens bud mot alteret: Alter! Alter! Så sier Herren: Det skal fødes en sønn for Davids hus, Josias skal han hete, og på deg skal han ofre offerhaugenes prester, som brenner røkelse på deg, og det skal brennes menneskeben på deg.
OTB: Og han ropte ut mot alteret ved Herrens ord og sa, “Alter, alter, dette er hva Herren sier: ‘Se, en sønn skal bli født til Davids hus, ved navn Josjia; og på deg skal han ofre prestene fra de høye stedene som brenner røkelse på deg, og menneskebein skal bli brent på deg.’”
B1930: Og han ropte på Herrens bud mot alteret: Alter! Alter! Så sier Herren: Det skal fødes en sønn for Davids hus, Josias skal han hete, og på dig skal han ofre offerhaugenes prester, som brenner røkelse på dig, og det skal brennes menneskeben på dig.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

2 Kings 23:15–18
Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.
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Ezekiel 36:1
Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:
Read in context
Jeremiah 22:29
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
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2 Kings 22:1–2
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.
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Ezekiel 36:4
Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;
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Isaiah 1:2
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
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Isaiah 58:1
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
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2 Chronicles 34:4–7
And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
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