Markus 6:18-20

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

[6:18]  ¹ tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

[6:18]  ² 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.

[6:19]  ³ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[6:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

[6:20]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  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.

[6:20]  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).

[6:20]  ⁸ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

[6:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.