1 Kings 13:4

² And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’”

³ That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’”

Now when King Jeroboam, who was at the altar in Bethel, heard the word that the man of God had cried out against it, he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward him withered, so that he could not pull it back.

⁵ And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

⁶ Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Now when King Jeroboam, who was at the altar in Bethel, heard the word that the man of God had cried out against it, he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward him withered, so that he could not pull it back.
KJV: And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, 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 again to him.
WEB: When the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” His hand, which he put out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to himself.
ASV: 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 again to him.
DARBY: And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not bring it back again to him.
BLB: And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” And his hand withered that he stretched out toward him, so that he could not pull it back to himself.

ÅB: Da kong Jeroboam hørte de ord som den Guds mann ropte mot alteret i Betel, rakte han ut sin hånd fra alteret og sa: Grip ham! Men hånden som han rakte ut mot ham, visnet, og han kunne ikke dra den til seg igjen.
OTB: Da kongen hørte ordet fra Guds mann, som han ropte ut mot alteret i Betel, strakte Jeroboam ut hånden fra alteret og sa, “Grip ham!” Men hånden han hadde strakt ut mot ham tørket inn, slik at han ikke kunne trekke den tilbake til seg selv.
B1930: Da kong Jeroboam hørte de ord som den Guds mann ropte mot alteret i Betel, rakte han ut sin hånd fra alteret og sa: Grip ham! Men hånden som han rakte ut mot ham, visnet, og han kunde ikke dra den til sig igjen.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Revelation 11:5
If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed.
Read in context
2 Chronicles 18:25–27
And the king of Israel declared, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,
Read in context
Jeremiah 26:8–11
and as soon as he had finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, “You must surely die!
Read in context
Matthew 26:57
Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered.
Read in context
John 18:6
When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Read in context
Jeremiah 38:4–6
Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”
Read in context
2 Kings 6:18–20
As the Arameans came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Please strike these people with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha.
Read in context
2 Chronicles 25:15–16
Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet, who said, “Why have you sought this people’s gods, which could not deliver them from your hand?”
Read in context