Matthew 14:5

Matthew 14:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
• New International Version (NIV)Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.

Context of Matthew 14:5

3For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip). 4John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.” Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet. 6But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him, 7so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted.

Matthew 14:5 word by word

καὶ θέλων αὐτὸν ἀποκτεῖναι ἐφοβήθη τὸν ὄχλον ὅτι ὡς προφήτην αὐτὸν εἶχον.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• whenθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• heαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• put him to deathἀποκτείνωapokteinō · to killG615
• he fearedφοβέωphobeō · to fearG5399
• the multitudeὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the multitudeὄχλοςochlos · crowdG3793
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• they countedἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• a prophetπροφήτηςprophētēs · prophetG4396

Cross-references for Matthew 14:5

• Mark 6:19So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless,
• Mark 14:1It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.
• Acts 4:21The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God
• Acts 5:26The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.
• Matthew 21:26But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.”
• Mark 11:30“Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”
• Luke 20:6But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.”

Commentaries on Matthew 14:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5He feared the multitude - Miserable prince! who fears more to offend his people, than to sin against his God, by shedding innocent blood. When a man resists sin only by the help of human motives, he cannot long defend himself.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. 3-12John the Baptist’s message drew large crowds, which leaders saw as a political threat (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.2). Years after John was executed, many Jews believed that Herod’s military defeat by King Aretas in AD 36 was God’s judgment for killing an innocent man.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 14:5

• Herod
• John
• King
• Malice
• Oath
• Persecution
• Politics
• Prisoners
• Rulers

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