as before.

And the king said unto the man of God, "Come home with me, and refresh
thyself, and I will give thee a reward."

And the man of God said unto the king, "If thou wilt give me half
thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor
drink water in this place: for so it was charged me by the word of the
Lord, saying, 'Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither
return by the way that thou camest.'"

So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to
Beth-el.

Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came
and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in
Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them also they
told unto their father.

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And their father said unto them, "What way went he?" Now his sons had
seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

And he said unto his sons, "Saddle me the ass."

So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon. And he went after
the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto
him, "Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah?" And he said, "I
am."

Then he said unto him, "Come home with me, and eat bread."

And he said, "I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither
will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: 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.'"

And he said unto him, "I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel
spoke 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. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in
his house, and drank water. And it came to pass, as they sat at the
table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought
him back: and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah,
saying, "Thus saith the Lord, 'Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient
unto the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which,
the Lord thy God commanded thee, but camest back, and hast eaten bread
and drunk water in the place of the which he said to thee, Eat no
bread, and drink no water; thy body shall not come unto the sepulcher
of thy fathers.'"

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[Illustration]
THE RUINS OF SAMARIA

From a photograph belonging to the Forbes Library, Northampton,
Mass