New International Version
Matthew 14:4
4for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Matthew 14:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.”
Context of Matthew 14:4
2and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet. 6On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much
Read all of Matthew 14Matthew 14:4 word by word
ἔλεγεν γὰρ ὁ Ἰωάννης αὐτῷ· οὐκ ἔξεστίν σοι ἔχειν αὐτήν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Matthew 14:4
- Leviticus 18:16“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.
- Leviticus 20:21“ ‘If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.
- Deuteronomy 25:5If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.
- 2 Samuel 12:7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
- 1 Kings 21:19Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’ ”
- 2 Chronicles 26:18They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
- Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Isaiah 8:20Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
- Mark 6:18For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
- Acts 24:24Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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