¹ tn Grk “and,” though such paratactic structure is rather awkward in English.

² sn This group probably includes outside or even professional mourners, not just family, because a large group seems to be present.

³ sn That no one should know about this. See the note on the phrase who he was in 3:12.

⁴ tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

⁷ tc In place of ἠπόρει (hporei, “he was baffled”) the majority of mss (A C D ˹ 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).

⁸ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.