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

2And said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he hath risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. 3For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had said to him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. 5And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. 6But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.

Matthew 14:4 word by word

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

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
• saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• isἔξεστι, ἐξόνexesti · be permittedG1832
• notοὐou · noG3756
• theeσοίsoi · youG4671
• haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192

Cross-references for Matthew 14:4

• Leviticus 18:16Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.
• Leviticus 20:21And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
• Deuteronomy 25:5If brethren shall dwell together, and one of them shall die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside the family to a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in to her, and take her to him for a wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother to her.
• 2 Samuel 12:7And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul;
• 1 Kings 21:19And thou shalt speak to him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak to him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
• 2 Chronicles 26:18And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, It appertaineth not to thee, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thy honour from the LORD God.
• Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
• Isaiah 8:20To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
• Mark 6:18For John had said to Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.
• Acts 24:24And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

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