Matthew 14:1–14

The Death of John the Baptist

14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch1 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 told3 him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”4 14:5 Although5 Herod6 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 oath8 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 So10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 14:11 His11 head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 14:12 Then John’s12 disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

14:13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it,13 they followed him on foot from the towns.14 14:14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

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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.
2	tc ‡ Most witnesses (א2 C D L W Z Θ 0106 f1, 13 33 𝔐 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. NA 27 includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.
3	tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.
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.
5	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
6	tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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.
8	tn The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (homologeō); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” BDAG (708 s.v. 1) lists “assure, promise with an oath” for certain contexts such as here.
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.
10	tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
11	tn Grk “And his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12	tn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
13	tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
14	tn Or “cities.”

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