Matthew 14:1-12
New American Standard Bible
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 [a](A)At that time [b](B)Herod [c]the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, “(C)This is John the Baptist; he himself has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 For when (D)Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him (E)in prison because of (F)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 For John had been saying to him, “(G)It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded [d]John as (H)a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of (I)Herodias danced [e]before them and pleased (J)Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 And after being prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths and [f]his dinner guests. 10 He sent word and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 [g]John’s disciples came and took away the body and buried [h]it; and they went and reported to Jesus.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 14:1 Or On that occasion
- Matthew 14:1 I.e., Herod Antipas
- Matthew 14:1 I.e., a regional ruler
- Matthew 14:5 Lit him
- Matthew 14:6 Lit in the midst
- Matthew 14:9 Lit those who reclined at the table with him
- Matthew 14:12 Lit his
- Matthew 14:12 Lit him
Matthew 14:1-12
New English Translation
The Death of John the Baptist
14 At that time Herod the tetrarch[a] heard reports about Jesus, 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.” 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him,[b] and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had repeatedly told[c] him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”[d] 5 Although[e] Herod[f] wanted to kill John,[g] he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. 6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so much that he promised[h] with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 Although it grieved the king,[i] because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 10 So[j] he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His[k] head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then John’s[l] disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 14:1 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.
- Matthew 14:3 tc ‡ Most witnesses (א1 C D L N W Z Γ Δ Θ 0106 ƒ1, 13 33 565 579 1241 1424 M lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various significant witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 ff1 h q al). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. NA28 includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.
- Matthew 14:4 tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.
- Matthew 14:4 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.
- Matthew 14:5 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
- Matthew 14:5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Matthew 14:5 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.
- Matthew 14:7 tn The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (homologeō); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” BDAG (708 s.v. 1) lists “assure, promise” for certain contexts such as here.
- Matthew 14:9 tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.”sn Herod was technically not a king, but this reflects popular usage. See the note on tetrarch in 14:1.
- Matthew 14:10 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
- Matthew 14:11 tn Grk “And his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Matthew 14:12 tn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.