Matius 11:2

Jesus and John the Baptist

11:2 Now when John ¹  heard in prison about the deeds Christ ²  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ³ 

Matius 14:3-10

14:3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, ⁴  and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 14:4 because John had repeatedly told ⁵  him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁶  14:5 Although ⁷  Herod ⁸  wanted to kill John, ⁹  he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. 14:6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 14:7 so much that he promised with an oath ¹⁰  to give her whatever she asked. 14:8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 14:9 Although it grieved the king, ¹¹  because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 14:10 So ¹²  he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

[11:2]  ¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[11:2]  ² tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

[11:2]  tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:2]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[11:2]  ³ tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C³ L ˹ Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

[11:2]  tn Grk “sending by his disciples he said to him.” The words “a question” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[14:3]  ⁴ tc ‡ Most witnesses (א² C D L W Z Θ 0106 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various important witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 pc ff¹ h q). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.

[14:4]  ⁵ tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

[14:4]  ⁶ sn This marriage of Herod to his brother Philip’s wife 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.

[14:5]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[14:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “him” (also in the following phrase, Grk “accepted him”); in both cases the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:7]  ¹⁰ tn The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (Jomologew); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” BDAG (708 s.v. 1) lists “assure, promise with an oath” for certain contexts such as here.

[14:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.”

[14:9]  sn Herod was technically not a king, but this reflects popular usage. See the note on tetrarch in 14:1.

[14:10]  ¹² tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.