1 Kings 13:4

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, that he 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 pull it in back to him.

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 this man cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: `Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places who burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee.'"

3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out."

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, that he 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 pull it in back to him.

5 The altar also was rent and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, "Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again." And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as it was before.