Matthew 14:4
New International Version
for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

New Living Translation
John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.”

English Standard Version
because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Berean Standard Bible
because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Berean Literal Bible
For John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

King James Bible
For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

New King James Version
Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

New American Standard Bible
For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

NASB 1995
For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

NASB 1977
For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Legacy Standard Bible
For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Amplified Bible
for John had said to him, “It is not lawful (morally right) for you to have her [living with you as your wife].”

Christian Standard Bible
since John had been telling him, “It’s not lawful for you to have her.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
since John had been telling him, “It’s not lawful for you to have her!”

American Standard Version
For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
For Yohannan had said to him, “It is not lawful that she should be your wife.”

Douay-Rheims Bible
For John said to him: It is not lawful for thee to have her.

English Revised Version
For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
John had been telling Herod, "It's not right for you to be married to her."

Good News Translation
For some time John the Baptist had told Herod, "It isn't right for you to be married to Herodias!"

International Standard Version
John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

Literal Standard Version
for John was saying to him, “It is not lawful to you to have her,”

Majority Standard Bible
because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

New American Bible
for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

NET Bible
because John had repeatedly told him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

New Revised Standard Version
because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

New Heart English Bible
For John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

Webster's Bible Translation
For John had said to him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

Weymouth New Testament
because John had persistently said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

World English Bible
For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

Young's Literal Translation
for John was saying to him, 'It is not lawful to thee to have her,'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Beheading of John
3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.…

Cross References
Leviticus 18:16
You must not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would shame your brother.

Leviticus 20:21
If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.

Proverbs 28:4
Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.

Mark 6:18
For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife!"


Treasury of Scripture

For John said to him, It is not lawful for you to have her.

Leviticus 18:16
Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.

Leviticus 20:21
And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

Deuteronomy 25:5,6
If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her…

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John Lawful Persistently Right
Matthew 14
1. Herod's opinion of Jesus.
3. Wherefore John Baptist was beheaded.
13. Jesus departs into a solitary place,
15. where he feeds five thousand men with five loves and two fishes.
22. He walks on the sea to his disciples;
34. and landing at Gennesaret,
35. heals the sick who touch of the hem of his garment.














(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.

Verse 4. - For John said unto him, It is not lawful (οὐκ ἔξεστιν, Matthew 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?

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
because
γὰρ (gar)
Conjunction
Strong's 1063: For. A primary particle; properly, assigning a reason.

John
Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2491: Of Hebrew origin; Joannes, the name of four Israelites.

had been telling
ἔλεγεν (elegen)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

him,
αὐτῷ (autō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

“It is not lawful
ἔξεστίν (exestin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1832: It is permitted, lawful, possible.

for you
σοι (soi)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

to have
ἔχειν (echein)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold.

her.”
αὐτήν (autēn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.


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