He went and found his body thrown on the path, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body, nor mauled the donkey.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
- BSB and he went and found the body lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or mauled the donkey.
- NKJV Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey.
- NASB Then he went and found his body thrown on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor harmed the donkey.
- NLT and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The prophet finds the body with the lion and donkey still standing by, untouched and unharmed. The unnatural restraint of the lion confirms this was a deliberate act of God.
Overview
A lion that has killed would normally devour its prey and attack the nearby donkey, but here it does neither. This supernatural restraint marks the death as a targeted judgment, not random violence. The scene visibly testifies that Yahweh's word, spoken against disobedience, had been precisely carried out.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jer 5:22–23Don’t you fear me?’ says Yahweh ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it can’t pass it? and though its waves toss themselves, yet they can’t prevail; though they roar, yet they can’t pass over it.’
- Dan 3:27–28The satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their pants changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.
- 1 Kgs 17:4You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
- 1 Kgs 17:6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
- Job 38:11and said, ‘Here you may come, but no further. Here your proud waves shall be stayed?’
- Dan 3:22Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
- Acts 16:26Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were loosened.
- Dan 6:22–24My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me; because as before him innocence was found in me; and also before you, O king, I have done no hurt.
- Heb 11:33–34who, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
- Ps 148:7–8Praise Yahweh from the earth, you great sea creatures, and all depths;
- Lev 10:2Fire came out from before Yahweh, and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh.
- Lev 10:5So they came near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 13:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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