And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered - disabled by paralysis (as 1 Kings 13:4). It was his right hand, as Luke graphically notes.
And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
Matthew and Luke say they "watched Him whether He would heal on the sabbath day." They were now come the length of dogging His steps, to collect materials for a charge of impiety against Him. It is probable that it was to their thoughts rather than their words that Jesus addressed Himself in what follows.