Mark 6:14-19
Context6:14 Now 1 King Herod 2 heard this, for Jesus’ 3 name had become known. Some 4 were saying, “John the baptizer 5 has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 6:15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets from the past.” 6:16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!” 6:17 For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod 6 had married her. 6:18 For John had repeatedly told 7 Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 8 6:19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But 9 she could not
[6:14] 1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[6:14] 2 sn Herod was technically not a king, but a tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king. A tetrarch ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. In the NT, Herod, who ruled over Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.
[6:14] 3 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:14] 4 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[6:14] 5 tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).
[6:17] 6 tn Grk “he”; here it is necessary to specify the referent as “Herod,” since the nearest previous antecedent in the translation is Philip.
[6:18] 7 tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.
[6:18] 8 sn It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. This was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.
[6:19] 9 tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.