Matthew 14:4

Matthew 14:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
• New International Version (NIV)for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)because John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Context of Matthew 14:4

2Herod said to his servants, ‘That man Jesus is really John the Baptist. John died but he has become alive again. That is the reason why this man can do these very powerful things.’ 3Before that, Herod had commanded his soldiers, ‘Take hold of John. Tie his hands and feet and put him in prison.’ Herod had done this because of his wife Herodias. Before Herod married her, she was the wife of Herod's brother Philip. John had said to Herod, ‘Herodias was your brother's wife. So it is not right for you to have her as your wife.’ 5Herod wanted to tell his soldiers that they must kill John. But the people thought that John was a prophet from God. So Herod was afraid to kill him. 6One day, when it was Herod's birthday, he asked people to come to a special meal. The daughter of Herodias danced in front of him and his visitors. Her dance caused Herod to become very happy.

Matthew 14:4 word by word

ἔλεγεν γὰρ ὁ Ἰωάννης αὐτῷ· οὐκ ἔξεστίν σοι ἔχειν αὐτήν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• Johnὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
• saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• It isἔξεστι, ἐξόνexesti · be permittedG1832
• notοὐou · noG3756
• for theeσύsu · youG4771
• to haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192

Cross-references for Matthew 14:4

• Leviticus 18:16Do not have sex with your brother's wife. That would make your brother ashamed.
• Leviticus 20:21It makes the people unclean if a man marries his brother's wife. He has taken away his brother's honour. They will not have any children.
• Deuteronomy 25:5Perhaps two brothers live together in the same place. One of the brothers may die before he has any son. If that happens, his widow must not marry anyone who does not belong to the family. Instead, the other brother must marry her. That is the right thing for him to do for his dead brother.
• 2 Samuel 12:7Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are that man! This is what the Lord, Israel's God, says: “I chose you as king to rule over Israel. I saved you from Saul's power.
• 1 Kings 21:19Say to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says to you: You have murdered a man. You have taken the dead man's field for yourself.” Then say to him, “This is what the Lord says: In the place where the dogs drank Naboth's blood from the ground, dogs will drink your blood. Yes, they will drink your blood there too!” ’
• 2 Chronicles 26:18They warned King Uzziah. They said to him, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to the Lord. Only the priests, Aaron's descendants, may do that. They are the people that God has chosen to offer incense to him. So you must leave this Holy Place because you have done something that is wrong. As a result, the Lord God will not give you any honour.’
• Proverbs 28:1A wicked person runs away even when nobody is chasing him. But a righteous person is as brave as a lion.
• Isaiah 8:20When they say that to you, remember my teaching. Tell them what I have said will happen. People who talk like that are completely in the dark. There is no truth in what they say.
• Mark 6:18John had said to him, ‘Herodias is your brother's wife. It is not right for you to have her as your wife.’
• Acts 24:24After some days, Felix came with Drusilla, his Jewish wife. He told his soldiers to bring Paul to them. Paul talked to them, and they listened to everything that he said. Paul spoke about how people believed in Jesus, the Messiah.

Commentaries on Matthew 14:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. - Here is an instance of zeal, fidelity, and courage, highly worthy of imitation. Plainness, mildness, and modesty, are qualifications necessary to be observed when we reprove the great. The best service a subject can render his prince is to lay before him, in the plainest but most respectful manner, what the law of God requires of him, and what it forbids. How unutterable must the punishment…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3-5Verses 3-5 For Herod had laid hold on John … - See Mark 6:17-20; Luke 3:19-20. This Herodias was a granddaughter of Herod the Great. She was first married to Herod Philip, by whom she had a daughter, Salome, probably the one that danced and pleased Herod. Josephus says that this marriage of Herod Antipas with Herodias took place while he was on a journey to Rome. He stopped at his brother‘s; fell in love with his wife; agreed to put away his own wife, the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4John kept warning Herod about his sin (see Leviticus 18:6; 20:21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-12The time of this alarm of Herod Antipas appears to have been during the mission of the Twelve, and shortly after the Baptist--who had been in prison for probably more than a year--had been cruelly put to death. Herod's Theory of the Works of Christ (Mt 14:1, 2). 1. At that time Herod the tetrarch--Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of Herod the Great, and own brother of Archelaus (Mt 2:22), who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea. heard of the fame…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 14:4

• Adultery
• Herod
• Incest
• John
• Malice
• Oath
• Persecution
• Politics
• Prisoners
• Rulers
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Antipas
• Bid
• Dead
• Delay
• Herodias
• Instruct
• John the Baptist
• Save
• Sorry
• Walk

Commentaries on Matthew 14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings