Mark 6:17-20

6:17 For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod 1  had married her. 6:18 For John had repeatedly told 2  Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 3  6:19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But 4  she could not 6:20 because Herod stood in awe of 5  John and protected him, since he knew that John 6  was a righteous and holy man. When Herod 7  heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, 8  and yet 9  he liked to listen to John. 10 

1 tn Grk “he”; here it is necessary to specify the referent as “Herod,” since the nearest previous antecedent in the translation is Philip.

2 tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

3 sn It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. This 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.

4 tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

5 tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

8 tc In place of ἠπόρει (hporei, “he was baffled”) the majority of mss (A C D Ë1 33 Ï lat sy) have ἐποίει (epoiei, “he did”; cf. KJV’s “he did many things.”) The best mss (א B L [W] Θ 2427 co) support the reading followed in the translation. The variation may be no more than a simple case of confusion of letters, since the two readings look very much alike. The verb ποιέω (poiew, “I do”) certainly occurs more frequently than ἀπορέω (aporew, “I am at a loss”), so a scribe would be more likely to write a more familiar word. Further, even though the reading ἐποίει is the harder reading in terms of the sense, it is virtually nonsensical here, rendering it most likely an unintentional corruption.

tn Or “terribly disturbed,” “rather perplexed.” The verb ἀπορέω (aporew) means “to be in perplexity, with the implication of serious anxiety” (L&N 32.9).

9 tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

10 tn Grk “him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.