1 Kings 13 · Verse 18

1 Kings 13:18

He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
1 Kings 13:18, King James Version

1 Kings 13:18 in other translations

BSBThen the prophet replied, “I too am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” The old prophet was lying to him,
WEBHe said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the LORD’s word, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him.
ASVAnd he said unto him, I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
YLTAnd he saith to him, ‘I also am a prophet like thee, and a messenger spake unto me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Bring him back with thee unto thy house, and he doth eat bread and drink water;' --he hath lied to him.
DARBYAnd he said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied unto him.
BBEThen he said to him, I am a prophet like you; and an angel said to me by the word of the Lord, Take him back with you and give him food and water. But he said false words to him.
WebsterHe said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him.

What does 1 Kings 13:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
18. an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord--This circuitous mode of speaking, instead of simply saying, "the Lord spake to me," was adopted to hide an equivocation, to conceal a double meaning--an inferior sense given to the word "angel"--to offer a seemingly superior authority to persuade the prophet, while really the authority was secretly known to the speaker to be inferior. The "angel," that is, "messenger," was his own sons, who were worshippers, perhaps priests, at Beth-el. As this man was governed by self-interest, and wished to curry favor with the king (whose purpose to adhere to his religious polity, he feared, might be shaken by the portents that had occurred), his hastening after the prophet of Judah, the deception he practised, and the urgent invitation by which, on the ground of a falsehood, he prevailed on the too facile man of God to accompany him back to his house in Beth-el, were to create an impression in the king's mind that he was an impostor, who acted in opposition to his own statement.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 An angel spake unto me - That he lied unto him is here expressly asserted, and is amply proved by the event. But why should he deceive him? The simple principle of curiosity to know all about this prediction, and the strange facts which had taken place, of which he had heard at second hand by means of his sons, was sufficient to induce such a person to get the intelligence he wished by any means. We may add to this, that, as he found the man of God sitting under an oak, probably faint with fatigue and fasting, for he had had no refreshment, his humanity might have led him to practice this deception, in order to persuade him to take some refreshment. Having fallen from God, as I have supposed, 1Kgs 13:11, his own tenderness of conscience was gone; and he would not scruple to do a moral evil, if even a temporal good could come of it. Again, is it not possible that the old prophet was himself deceived? for, though he lied unto him, it is possible that he was not conscious of his lie, for Satan, as an angel of light, might have deceived him in order to lead him to deceive the other. He does not say, as the man of God did, It was said to me by the word of the Lord; no: but, An angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord. And I think it very likely that an angel did appear to him on the occasion; an angel of darkness and idolatry, in the garb of an angel of light, who wished to use him as an instrument to bring discredit on the awful transactions which had lately taken place, and to destroy him who had foretold the destruction of his power and influence.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 13:11-22

The old prophet's conduct proves that he was not really a godly man. When the change took place under Jeroboam, he preferred his ease and interest to his religion. He took a very bad method to bring the good prophet back. It was all a lie. Believers are most in danger of being drawn from their duty by plausible pretences of holiness. We may wonder that the wicked prophet went unpunished, while the holy man of God…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 13:11-22 →

1 Kings 13:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
ל֗וֹloto him
גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571
אֲנִ֣י'a.NiIH589
נָבִיא֮na.Vi'[am] a prophetH5030
כָּמוֹךָ֒ka.mo.Khalike youH3644
וּמַלְאָ֡ךְu.mal.'Akhand an angelH4397
דִּבֶּ֣רdi.Berit has spokenH1696
אֵלַי֩'e.Laito meH413
בִּדְבַ֨רbid.Varby [the] word ofH1697
יְהוָ֜הYah.wehYahwehH3068
לֵאמֹ֗רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
הֲשִׁבֵ֤הוּha.shi.Ve.hubring back himH7725
אִתְּךָ֙'i.te.Khawith youH854
אֶל\־'el-toH413
בֵּיתֶ֔ךָbei.Te.khahouse yourH1004
וְיֹ֥אכַלve.Yo.khalso he may eatH398
לֶ֖חֶםLe.chembreadH3899
וְיֵ֣שְׁתְּve.Ye.shetso he may drinkH8354
מָ֑יִםMa.yimwaterH4325
כִּחֵ֖שׁki.Cheshhe liedH3584
לֽוֹ\׃loto him

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 13:18

  • 1 John 4:1

    Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

  • Matthew 7:15

    Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

  • Numbers 22:35

    And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

  • Jeremiah 23:32

    Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.

  • 2 Peter 2:1

    But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

  • Jeremiah 28:15-16

    Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord.

  • Romans 16:18

    For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

  • 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

    For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

  • Ezekiel 13:9-10

    And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:

  • Jeremiah 23:17

    They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

  • Jeremiah 5:31

    The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

  • 2 Corinthians 11:3

    But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
an angel.
Nu 22:35; Jud 6:11,12; 13:3
But.
Ge 3:4,5; Isa 9:15; Jer 5:12,31; 23:14,17,32; 28:15,16
Eze 13:9,10,22; Mt 7:15; 24:24; Ro 16:18; 2Co 11:3,13-15; 2Pe 2:1
1Jo 4:1; Re 19:20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 13:17

    For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

  • 1 Kings 13:18

    He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

  • 1 Kings 13:19

    So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

Read all of 1 Kings 13

1 Kings 13:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y el otro le dijo: Yo también soy profeta como tú, y un ángel me ha hablado por palabra de Jehová, diciendo: Vuélvele contigo á tu casa, para que coma pan y beba agua. Empero mintióle.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et il lui dit: Moi aussi je suis prophète comme toi, et un ange m’a parlé par la parole de l’ Éternel, disant: Fais-le revenir avec toi à ta maison, et qu’il mange du pain et boive de l’eau. Il lui mentait.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und er sprach zu ihm: Auch ich bin ein Prophet, wie du; und ein Engel hat zu mir geredet durch das Wort Jehovas und gesagt: Bringe ihn mit dir in dein Haus zurück, daß er Brot esse und Wasser trinke. Er belog ihn.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Qui ait illi: Et ego propheta sum similis tui: et angelus locutus est mihi in sermone Domini, dicens: Reduc eum tecum in domum tuam, ut comedat panem, et bibat aquam. Fefellit eum,