1 Kings 13:4

4 Then the king, hearing the man of God crying out against the altar at Beth-el, put out his hand from the altar, saying, Take him prisoner. And his hand, stretched out against him, became dead, and he had no power of pulling it back.

1 Kings 13:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 13:4

And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the
man of God, who had cried against the altar in Bethel
He was highly provoked: so that he put forth his hand from the altar; on which he was burning incense:

saying, lay hold on him;
he put forth his hand, and either shook it at the prophet, threatening what he would do to him; or as beckoning to the people to seize him, and which he also expressed:

and his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he
could not pull it in again to him;
he could not move it one way nor another, but it remained in the same position, the nerves and muscles being shrunk; which was a further confirmation of the prophet's mission from God, being one of those concerning whom he says, "do my prophets no harm", and a fresh token of the certain performance of what he had said.

1 Kings 13:4 In-Context

2 And by the order of the Lord he made an outcry against the altar, saying, O altar, altar, the Lord has said, From the seed of David will come a child, named Josiah, and on you he will put to death the priests of the high places, who are burning offerings on you, and men's bones will be burned on you.

3 The same day he gave them a sign, saying, This is the sign which the Lord has given: See, the altar will be broken and the burned waste on it overturned.

4 Then the king, hearing the man of God crying out against the altar at Beth-el, put out his hand from the altar, saying, Take him prisoner. And his hand, stretched out against him, became dead, and he had no power of pulling it back.

5 And the altar was broken and the burned waste on it overturned; this was the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

6 Then the king made answer and said to the man of God, Make a prayer now for the grace of the Lord your God, and for me, that my hand may be made well. And in answer to the prayer of the man of God, the king's hand was made well again, as it was before.