1 Kings 13:9

9 For thus I was commanded by the word of the Lord: You shall not eat food, or drink water, or return by the way that you came."

1 Kings 13:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 13:9

For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord
The command of the Lord, by which he came to Bethel, and cried against the altar there, ( 1 Kings 13:1 1 Kings 13:2 )

saying, eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way
that thou camest:
signifying that no communion was to be had with idolaters, nor any example to be set and followed; but the way to them, and to their idolatry, was to be shunned and avoided.

1 Kings 13:9 In-Context

7 Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and dine, and I will give you a gift."
8 But the man of God said to the king, "If you give me half your kingdom, I will not go in with you; nor will I eat food or drink water in this place.
9 For thus I was commanded by the word of the Lord: You shall not eat food, or drink water, or return by the way that you came."
10 So he went another way, and did not return by the way that he had come to Bethel.
11 Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel. One of his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words also that he had spoken to the king, they told to their father.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.