Matthew 14:1-10

The Death of John the Baptist

14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch ¹  heard reports about Jesus, 14:2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 14:3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, ²  and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 14:4 because John had repeatedly told ³  him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁴  14:5 Although ⁵  Herod ⁶  wanted to kill John, ⁷  he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. 14:6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 14:7 so much that he promised with an oath ⁸  to give her whatever she asked. 14:8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 14:9 Although it grieved the king, ⁹  because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 14:10 So ¹⁰  he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

Luke 3:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, ¹¹  when Pontius Pilate ¹²  was governor of Judea, and Herod ¹³  was tetrarch ¹⁴  of Galilee, and his brother Philip ¹⁵  was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ¹⁶  was tetrarch of Abilene,

Luke 3:19-20

3:19 But when John rebuked Herod ¹⁷  the tetrarch ¹⁸  because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, ¹⁹  and because of all the evil deeds ²⁰  that he had done, 3:20 Herod added this to them all: He locked up John in prison.

Luke 13:31-32

Going to Jerusalem

13:31 At that time, ²¹  some Pharisees ²²  came up and said to Jesus, ²³  “Get away from here, ²⁴  because Herod ²⁵  wants to kill you.” 13:32 But ²⁶  he said to them, “Go ²⁷  and tell that fox, ²⁸  ‘Look, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day ²⁹  I will complete my work. ³⁰ 

Luke 23:7-11

23:7 When ³¹  he learned that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction, ³²  he sent him over to Herod, ³³  who also happened to be in Jerusalem ³⁴  at that time. 23:8 When ³⁵  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 ³⁶  some miraculous sign. ³⁷  23:9 So ³⁸  Herod ³⁹  questioned him at considerable length; Jesus ⁴⁰  gave him no answer. 23:10 The chief priests and the experts in the law ⁴¹  were there, vehemently accusing him. ⁴²  23:11 Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, ⁴³  dressing him in elegant clothes, ⁴⁴  Herod ⁴⁵  sent him back to Pilate.

Philippians 4:22

4:22 All the saints greet you, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.

[14:1]  ¹ sn A tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.

[14:3]  ² tc ‡ Most witnesses (א² C D L W Z Θ 0106 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various important witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 pc ff¹ h q). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.

[14:4]  ³ tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

[14:4]  ⁴ sn This marriage of Herod to his brother Philip’s wife 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.

[14:5]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[14:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “him” (also in the following phrase, Grk “accepted him”); in both cases the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:7]  ⁸ tn The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (Jomologew); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” BDAG (708 s.v. 1) lists “assure, promise with an oath” for certain contexts such as here.

[14:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.”

[14:10]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “Emperor Tiberius” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[3:1]  ¹² sn The rule of Pontius Pilate is also described by Josephus, J. W. 2.9.2-4 (2.169-177) and Ant. 18.3.1 (18.55-59).

[3:1]  ¹³ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled from 4 b.c.-a.d. 39, sharing the rule of his father’s realm with his two brothers. One brother, Archelaus (Matt 2:22) was banished in a.d. 6 and died in a.d. 18; the other brother, Herod Philip (mentioned next) died in a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ¹⁴ sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage.

[3:1]  ¹⁵ sn Philip refers to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Antipas. Philip ruled as tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis from 4 b.c.-a.d. 34.

[3:1]  ¹⁶ sn Nothing else is known about Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.

[3:19]  ¹⁷ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[3:19]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.

[3:19]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Or “immoralities.”

[13:31]  ²¹ tn Grk “At that very hour.”

[13:31]  ²² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[13:31]  ²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:31]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Go away and leave from here,” which is redundant in English and has been shortened to “Get away from here.”

[13:31]  ²⁵ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[13:32]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:32]  ²⁷ tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

[13:32]  ²⁸ sn That fox. This is not fundamentally a figure for cleverness as in modern western culture, but could indicate (1) an insignificant person (Neh 4:3; 2 Esd 13:35 LXX); (2) a deceiver (Song Rabbah 2.15.1 on 2:15); or someone destructive, a destroyer (Ezek 13:4; Lam 5:18; 1 En. 89:10, 42-49, 55). Luke’s emphasis seems to be on destructiveness, since Herod killed John the Baptist, whom Luke calls “the greatest born of women” (Luke 7:28) and later stands opposed to Jesus (Acts 4:26-28). In addition, “a person who is designated a fox is an insignificant or base person. He lacks real power and dignity, using cunning deceit to achieve his aims” (H. W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas [SNTSMS], 347).

[13:32]  ²⁹ sn The third day is a figurative reference to being further on in time, not a reference to three days from now. Jesus is not even in Jerusalem yet, and the events of the last days in Jerusalem take a good week.

[13:32]  ³⁰ tn Or “I reach my goal.” The verb τελειόω (teleiow) is a key NT term for the completion of God’s plan: See Luke 12:50; 22:37; John 19:30; and (where it has the additional component of meaning “to perfect”) Heb 2:10; 5:8-9; 7:28.

[23:7]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[23:7]  ³² sn Learning that Jesus was from Galilee and therefore part of Herod’s jurisdiction, Pilate decided to rid himself of the problem by sending him to Herod.

[23:7]  ³³ sn Herod was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. See the note on Herod in 3:1.

[23:7]  ³⁴ sn Herod would probably have come to Jerusalem for the feast, although his father was only half Jewish (Josephus, Ant. 14.15.2 [14.403]). Josephus does mention Herod’s presence in Jerusalem during a feast (Ant. 18.5.3 [18.122]).

[23:8]  ³⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[23:8]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ sn Herod, hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign, seems to have treated Jesus as a curiosity (cf. 9:7-9).

[23:9]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:10]  ⁴¹ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[23:10]  ⁴² sn Luke portrays the Jewish leadership as driving events toward the cross by vehemently accusing Jesus.

[23:11]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.