Text -- Mark 3:1-4 (NET)

Healing a Withered Hand

3:1 Then Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 3:2 They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him. 3:3 So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.” 3:4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?” But they were silent.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Mar 3:1

¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21.

⁴ sn Withered means the man’s hand was shrunken and paralyzed.

NET Notes: Mar 3:2

¹ sn The term translated watched…closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.

² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).

NET Notes: Mar 3:3

¹ tn Grk “Stand up in the middle.”

sn Most likely synagogues were arranged with benches along the walls and open space in the center for seating on the floor.

NET Notes: Mar 3:4

¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.