For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Parallel Translations
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For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
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For Ihon sayde vnto him: That is not lawfull for the to have her.
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For Iohn saide vnto him, It is not lawfull for thee to haue her.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Matthew 14:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 20:21 “ ‘If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.
- Leviticus 18:16 “ ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife. It is your brother’s nakedness.
- Mark 6:18 For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, and take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Israel.
- 2 Samuel 12:7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
- 1 Kings 21:19 You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ”
- 2 Chronicles 26:18-19 They resisted Uzziah the king, and said to him, “It isn’t for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed. It will not be for your honor from Yahweh God.” Then Uzziah was angry. He had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and while he was angry with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in Yahweh’s house, beside the altar of incense.
- Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Isaiah 8:20 Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
- Acts 24:24-25 But after some days, Felix came with Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus. As he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, “Go your way for this time, and when it is convenient for me, I will summon you.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 For John said unto him, It is not…
4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
Ver. 4. For John had said unto him, It is not lawful] Others knew it to be so, but none dared tell him so but John. In like sort Elijah told Ahab that he had troubled israel (those times and these did very much suit; John was another Elias, Herod and Herodias answered to Ahab and Jezebel). So Latimer presented for a new year’s gift to King Henry VIII a New Testament, with a napkin, having this posy about it, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. He also wrote a letter to the king, after the proclamation for abolishing English books; where we may see and marvel at his great boldness and stoutness, who as being yet no bishop, so freely and plainly dared to so mighty a prince, in such a dangerous case, against the king’s proclamation, set out in such a terrible time, take upon him to write and to admonish that which no counsellor dared once speak unto him, in defence of Christ’s gospel. King Asa, though a godly prince, imprisoned the prophet for dealing plainly with him. Archbishop Grindal lost Queen Elizabeth’s favour, and was confined, for favouring prophecies, &c., as it was pretended; but in truth, for condemning an unlawful marriage of Julio an Italian physician with another man’s wife, while Leicester in vain opposed against his proceedings therein. (Camd. Elizab.) God’s truth must be told, however it be taken, and not be betrayed (as it is too often) by a cowardly silence.
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It is not lawful for thee to have her] And yet the pope frequently dispenseth with such incestuous marriages, King Philip III of Spain, were he now alive, might call the Archduke Albert both brother, cousin, nephew, and son: for all this were he unto him, either by blood or affinity: being uncle to himself, first cousin to his father, husband to his sister, and father to his wife, and all by papal dispensation. Abhorred filth!
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Mark telleth us, Mar 6:20, that Herod feared, that…
Mark telleth us, Mar 6:20, that Herod feared, that is, reverenced and respected, John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. John was very popular, and all men counted him as a prophet; so that probably Herod sent for him to the court, and heard him there. John seeing Herod live in adultery and incest, was not able to suffer such a sin upon him, but tells him he did that which was not lawful for him to do, for God’s law had forbidden such marriages. Mark addeth, that Herodias also had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not, because of the respect which Herod had for him. But this wore off, for Matthew tells us... (see Mat 14:5)
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For John said unto him,.... John having heard of…
For John said unto him,.... John having heard of this incestuous marriage, went to Herod, and reproved him to his face for it; and, as Luke says, "for all the evils he had done", Luk 3:19 for he was a very wicked man, and guilty of many flagitious crimes: John, in so doing, showed his zeal for holiness, his hatred of sin, his courage and faithfulness in reproving thus freely so great a man; and made it manifest, that he came in the spirit of Elijah: what he said to him was,
it is not lawful for thee to have her, being forbidden, Lev 18:16 for though by another law it was right to marry a brother's wife, after his decease, when he left no issue, yet this was not the case here; Philip was now living, and, had he been dead, such a marriage would have been unlawful, because there was issue; she had a daughter, who afterwards is said to dance before Herod; and besides, he himself had another wife, whom he put away; so that his sin was a very aggravated and complicated one: lying with a brother's wife, was one of those sins which, according to the Jewish (h) canons, deserved cutting off, or death by the hand of God. Josephus (i) gives another reason of the imprisonment and death of John, that Herod feared that the people of the Jews, through his means, would be moved to sedition, and revolt from his government; which might be what Herodias suggested to him, or what he gave out himself, to cover the true cause of his proceedings: but the true reason is, what is here given, and is to be confirmed by the testimony of Jewish writers. One of their chronologers (k) delivers the account in these express words:
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"Herod Antipater was a very wicked and pernicious man, many of the wise men of Israel he slew with the sword; and he took to wife, his brother Philip's wife, whilst he was living; and because John the high priest (for so through mistake they call him) "reproved him for this"; (see Luk 3:19) he slew him with the sword, with many of the wise men of Israel.''
And, says their historian (l),
"also he, Herod, slew John, because he said unto him, it is forbidden thee to take the wife of Philip, and he slew him; this is that John that practised baptism.''
(h) Misn. Ceritot, c. 1. sect. 1. (i) Antiqu. lsss. 18. c. 6. (k) Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2. (l) Joseph. Gorionides, 1. 5. c. 45.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain It is not lawful for thee to have her…
It is not lawful for thee to have her - It was not lawful indeed for either of them to have her. For her father Aristobulus was their own brother. John's words were rough, like his raiment. He would not break the force of truth by using soft words, even to a king.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. For John said unto him, It is…
Verse 4. For 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 of those be who are chaplains to princes, or great men, and who either flatter them in their vices, or wink at their sins!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. It is not lawful — It is well…
4. It is not lawful — It is well when ministers dare rebuke the crimes of politicians and rulers. The doctrine that there is no higher law than wicked rulers are pleased to enact, is essential atheism.
And what adds to the force of John’s example in reproving the wickedness of rulers, is the fact that John, it seems, faced Herod Antipas himself with this rebuke. He “said unto him, It is not lawful for thee.” At what interview between the tyrant and the prophet this rebuke took place is not recorded. Very possibly Herod, knowing John’s great influence over the conscience of the people, had endeavoured by personal consultation to obtain the Baptist’s sanction of his adultery; or he may have heard of John’s inveighing against his profligacy, and have arrested him and brought the Baptist into his presence, where of course he would have found reproof not recanted, but reaffirmed.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. It is not lawful for thee to have…
4. It is not lawful for thee to have her] St Luke adds, Mar_3:19, that Herod was also reproved “for all the evil which he had done.” “Boldly to rebuke vice” is fixed upon as the leading characteristic of the Baptist in the collect for St John the Baptist’s day.
to have her] i. e. “to marry her,” a force which the word in the original bears, cp. 1Co_5:1.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) For John said unto him.—The Jewish historian (Ant.…
(4) For John said unto him.—The Jewish historian (Ant. xviii. 5, § 2) states more generally that Antipas was afraid lest some popular outbreak should be the result of the preaching of the Baptist, working on the excitable peasantry of Galilee.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For John said unto him, It is not lawful…
For John said unto him, It is not lawful (ouk exestin , Mat_12:2) for thee to have her. Herod Philip being still alive. Bengel remarks, "Causas matrimoniales non possunt plane abdicare theologi." Was he thinking of Luther"s unfortunate advice to Philip of Hesse?
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 4. John"s rugged faithfulness.
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How John came into contact with Herod, or how he was called to administer such a public reproof, we are not informed. It is quite possible that, in the Divine inspiration, he had done somewhat as Elijah had done before him suddenly appeared at court, a strange weird figure before which the soldiers shrank back, marched straight into the presence of Herod, and with no preamble or apology, declared, "It is not lawful for thee to have her." It is, however, quite possible that Herod may have sent for him, hoping to get his conscience eased by securing the prophet"s approval of his act; and no doubt Herod had some fine excuses and explanations to offer. Men always have when they have resolved to satisfy their own fancies and vices. And at Eastern courts there are always people willing enough to flatter their king, and encourage him in his vices. John stands out in strong contrast with all such.
I A MAN WHO KNEW THE RIGHT. We are often confused because, though we may know the right, there are special circumstances in each particular case which disturb our judgment. We can see the abstract right, but it is difficult to see the right in just this case. It cannot be right that a man should have his brother"s wife. And yet advisers at court may make out that high policy makes that necessary in this case. Compare Cranmer helping Henry VIII to secure his shameless divorce. John the Baptist listened to no excuses of policy, which were but excuses of passion. He knew the right.
II A MAN WHO SPOKE OUT THE RIGHT HE KNEW. So often we "keep silence in the evil time." We think we can do no good by speaking out, and may only bring trouble on ourselves. The men who have influenced the generations are the men of strong convictions, who could not keep silence. John, on this occasion, might have been cautious; he might have spoken like a courtier, eased his message, spoken carefully, and taken care not to offend. His mission was to the conscience of the wicked king. There shall be no trimming in his message; it shall smite right home. It is bald, bare, strong, uncompromising. "It is not lawful for thee to have her." People are sometimes what they call "faithful," but they are only irritating and humiliating. True faithfulness is conscience rousing.
III A MAN WHO SUFFERED FOR THE RIGHT HE SPOKE. Not really at the hands of Herod. Really at the hands of Herodias, the unscrupulous woman who was the Jezebel to this Ahab. A man who fears the personal consequences of witnessing to the right, or doing the right, will never stand beside rugged, faithful John in the Divine approval. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 4. It is not lawful for thee to have…
4. It is not lawful for thee to have her. The marriage was unlawful for these three reasons: (1) The former husband of Herodias (Philip) was still living. (2) The former wife of Antipas was still living. (3) Besides, the Jewish law did not permit a man to marry his niece.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 14:4 John had continually warned Herod of his sin…
14:4 John had continually warned Herod of his sin (see Lev 18:6; 20:21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.