But he said, 'I may not return with you, or go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place — The young prophet reiterates the divine command that binds him, repeating his earlier refusal with the king. The phrase לֹא־אוּכַל לָשׁוּב אִתְּךָ (lo-uchal lashuv itcha, I cannot return with you) shows his steadfastness in the face of renewed temptation. His refusal is grounded not in suspicion of the old prophet but in obedience to the explicit divine word he had received. The phrase כִּי־נִשְׁמַר לִי דָּבָר־יְהוָה (ki-nishmarmeti dabar-YHWH, for the word of the LORD is binding on me) emphasizes the inviolability of the divine mandate.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse