Discovery BoxMark 3:2-4 
Context3:2 They watched 1 Jesus 2 closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, 3 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.” 4 3:4 Then 5 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.
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).
4 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.
5 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
