Lukas 9:9

9:9 Herod said, “I had John ¹  beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus. ² 

Lukas 23:8

23:8 When ³  Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform ⁴  some miraculous sign. ⁵ 

[9:9]  ¹ tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.

[9:9]  ² tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezhtei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.

[23:8]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[23:8]  ⁴ tn Grk “to see some sign performed by him.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.

[23:8]  ⁵ sn Herod, hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign, seems to have treated Jesus as a curiosity (cf. 9:7-9).