Luke 3:19-20

3:19 But when John rebuked Herod ¹  the tetrarch ²  because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, ³  and because of all the evil deeds ⁴  that he had done, 3:20 Herod added this to them all: He locked up John in prison.

Luke 9:7-9

Herod’s Confusion about Jesus

9:7 Now Herod ⁵  the tetrarch ⁶  heard about everything that was happening, and he was thoroughly perplexed, ⁷  because some people were saying that John ⁸  had been raised from the dead, 9:8 while others were saying that Elijah ⁹  had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had risen. ¹⁰  9:9 Herod said, “I had John ¹¹  beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus. ¹² 

Luke 23:8-11

23:8 When ¹³  Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform ¹⁴  some miraculous sign. ¹⁵  23:9 So ¹⁶  Herod ¹⁷  questioned him at considerable length; Jesus ¹⁸  gave him no answer. 23:10 The chief priests and the experts in the law ¹⁹  were there, vehemently accusing him. ²⁰  23:11 Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, ²¹  dressing him in elegant clothes, ²²  Herod ²³  sent him back to Pilate.

Ezekiel 13:4

13:4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel.

Micah 3:1-3

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ²⁴  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ²⁵  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ²⁶ 

3:2 yet you ²⁷  hate what is good, ²⁸ 

and love what is evil. ²⁹ 

You flay my people’s skin ³⁰ 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ³¹ 

3:3 You ³²  devour my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin,

and crush their bones.

You chop them up like flesh in a pot ³³  –

like meat in a kettle.

Zephaniah 3:3

3:3 Her princes ³⁴  are as fierce as roaring lions; ³⁵ 

her rulers ³⁶  are as hungry as wolves in the desert, ³⁷ 

who completely devour their prey by morning. ³⁸ 

Mark 6:26-28

6:26 Although it grieved the king deeply, ³⁹  he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests. 6:27 So ⁴⁰  the king sent an executioner at once to bring John’s ⁴¹  head, and he went and beheaded John in prison. 6:28 He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

[3:19]  ¹ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[3:19]  ² sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.

[3:19]  ³ tc Several mss (A C K W Ψ 33 565 579 1424 2542 al bo) read τῆς γυναικὸς Φιλίππου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ (th" gunaiko" Filippou tou adelfou autou, “the wife of his brother Philip”), specifying whose wife Herodias was. The addition of “Philip,” however, is an assimilation to Matt 14:3 and is lacking in the better witnesses.

[3:19]  ⁴ tn Or “immoralities.”

[9:7]  ⁵ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[9:7]  ⁶ sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.

[9:7]  ⁷ tn Or “was very confused.” See L&N 32.10 where this verse is given as an example of the usage.

[9:7]  ⁸ sn John refers to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded (v. 9).

[9:8]  ⁹ sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

[9:8]  ¹⁰ sn The phrase had risen could be understood to mean “had been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. The three options of vv. 7-8 will be repeated in v. 19.

[9:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.

[9:9]  ¹² tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezhtei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.

[23:8]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[23:8]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “to see some sign performed by him.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.

[23:8]  ¹⁵ sn Herod, hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign, seems to have treated Jesus as a curiosity (cf. 9:7-9).

[23:9]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous statements in the narrative about Herod’s desire to see Jesus.

[23:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:10]  ¹⁹ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[23:10]  ²⁰ sn Luke portrays the Jewish leadership as driving events toward the cross by vehemently accusing Jesus.

[23:11]  ²¹ tn This is a continuation of the previous Greek sentence, but because of its length and complexity, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying “then” to indicate the sequence of events.

[23:11]  ²² sn This mockery involved putting elegant royal clothes on Jesus, either white or purple (the colors of royalty). This was no doubt a mockery of Jesus’ claim to be a king.

[23:11]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[3:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ²⁸ tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ²⁹ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”

[3:3]  ³² tn Heb “who.”

[3:3]  ³³ tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kish’er, “like flesh”).

[3:3]  ³⁴ tn Or “officials.”

[3:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “her princes in her midst are roaring lions.” The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as fierce as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ³⁶ tn Traditionally “judges.”

[3:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “her judges [are] wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 128. The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as hungry as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “they do not gnaw [a bone] at morning.” The precise meaning of the line is unclear. The statement may mean these wolves devour their prey so completely that not even a bone is left to gnaw by the time morning arrives. For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 129.

[6:26]  ³⁹ tn Grk “and being deeply grieved, the king did not want.”

[6:27]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[6:27]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.