20 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:
20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back.
20 And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.
20 There they were, sitting at the table together, when the word of God came to the prophet who had brought him back.
20 Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back;
20 Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the Lord came to the old prophet.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 13:20
Commentary on 1 Kings 13:11-22
(Read 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 was suddenly and severely punished. What shall we make of this? The judgments of God are beyond our power to fathom; and there is a judgment to come. Nothing can excuse any act of wilful disobedience. This shows what they must expect who hearken to the great deceiver. They that yield to him as a tempter, will be terrified by him as a tormentor. Those whom he now fawns upon, he will afterwards fly upon; and whom he draws into sin, he will try to drive to despair.