<b>R. Yudan opened the discussion with the verse: The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is little worth (Prov. 10:20).</b> T<i>he tongue of the righteous is as choice silver</i> alludes to the prophet Iddo. <i>The heart of the wicked is little worth</i> refers to Jeroboam. Scripture states: <i>And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el, and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer; and he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said: “O altar, altar”</i> (I Kings 13:1–2). Why is the word <i>altar</i> repeated twice? R. Abba the son of Kahana said: Because there were two altars, one at Bethel and one at Dan. Why did he say: <i>Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and man’s bones shall be burnt upon thee?</i> (ibid., v. 2)? It does not say in the verse “the bones of Jeroboam” but rather <i>man’s bones</i>. You learn from this that he (the prophet) was respectful toward the government. <i>And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying: “Lay hold on him.” And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back</i> (ibid., vv. 4–5).
R. Huna declared: Blessed be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, who endures much from His creatures, yet protects the honor of His righteous ones. When Jeroboam arose and sacrificed to idols, his hand did not shrivel up, but when he stretched forth his hand against the righteous man, his hand did shrivel up.
<i>And the king answered and said unto the man of God: “Entreat now the favor of the Lord thy God, and pray for me”</i> (ibid., v. 6). Two amoraim<sup class="footnote-marker">13</sup><i class="footnote">Talmudic authorities who lived after the final redaction of the Mishnah.</i> discussed this verse. One commented that he said <i>thy God</i> and not “my God.” The other retorted: How could he call Him “my God” while he stood and sacrificed before an idol whom he addressed as “my god”? Nevertheless <i>The man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored, and became as it was before</i> (ibid.). What is meant by <i>as it was before</i>? R. Judah the son of Simon began the discussion with the verse in the name of R. Joshua the son of Levi: <i>Though thou brayest a fool in mortar with a pestle among groats, yet will not his foolishness depart from him</i> (Prov. 27:22). That is to say, it will have no effect (on the fool, he learns nothing). Likewise he had previously sacrificed to an idol, and he did so again.
Another comment on <i>The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver</i> (Prov. 10:30). This refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, who chose the tongue of Moses when he told him: <i>When thou takest the sum</i> (to obtain forgiveness). What is written above concerning this very matter? <i>And Aaron shall make atonement upon the horns of it once in the year</i> (Exod. 30:10). After Israel had sinned, the Holy One, blessed be said to Moses: Go, atone for them. Whereupon Moses replied: Did You not say to me <i>once in the year?</i> The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: Go lift up their heads (obtain forgiveness) now. Then Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, when they do good let them be at rest, but when they are without merit, as though that were possible, let them be forgiven once a year in order that the Day of Atonement may come and atonement be made for them, as it is said: <i>For on that day shall atonement be made for you</i> (Lev. 16:30).