6:20a

because: The word because introduces the reason for 6:19c, that is, the reason Herodias was unable to have John killed. She probably could not do so without Herod’s help/permission.

Herod feared John: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as feared refers to a mixture of fear and awe/reverence. Herod revered or highly respected John, and he also feared him. In 6:20c it is clear that the reason for this fear and respect was that Herod considered John to be righteous and holy.

If your language has a word such as “awe” that refers to a very strong respect as well as fear, you may want to use it here. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:

Herod was in awe of John

Another option is to use two different phrases. For example:

Herod feared and respected John
-or-
Herod’s respect and fear for John was great

6:20b–c

The Berean Standard Bible changes the Greek order of the phrases in 6:20b–c. The Revised Standard Version follows the Greek order. Compare the order of the phrases in the Revised Standard Version and Berean Standard Bible below.

20aFor Herod feared John, 20cknowing that he was a righteous and holy man, 20band kept him safe. (Revised Standard Version)

20abecause Herod feared John 20band protected him, 20cknowing that he was a righteous and holy man (Berean Standard Bible)

Another way to order these clauses is as the TRT has done:

20cbecause Herod knew that John was a righteous and holy man, 20aso he feared him 20band protected him

The Notes below and the Display have been reordered to follow the Greek text. You should follow the order that expresses the meaning most clearly and naturally in your language.

6:20c (reordered)

knowing that he was a righteous and holy man: These words give the reason for Herod’s fear and awe of John the Baptizer. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

because Herod knew that John was a righteous and holy man

If it is not natural in your language to begin both 6:20a and 6:20c with “because,” you can start a new sentence here without a conjunction. For example:

He knew that John was a righteous and holy man.

righteous and holy man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as righteous refers to a person who lives according to God’s standards. In other words, he consistently does what is right. This word also occurs in 2:17c.

Here are some other ways to translate a righteous…man:

a good…man (Good News Bible)
-or-
a man who did what was right

holy: The word holy describes something or someone that is dedicated or set apart to the service of God. When it is used to describe a person, it also implies that the person is separated from sin. He is not sinless, but his life is morally pure and clean.

Here are some other ways to translate holy in this verse:

dedicated to serving God
-or-
godly/devout
-or-
morally clean/pure

6:20b (reordered)

and protected him: The clause and protected him gives the result of 6:19b–20a,c. Herodias wanted to kill John. But Herod would not allow it because he feared John. Therefore, he kept him safe.

Here are some other ways to connect 6:20b to the previous clauses:

…so he protected him. (God’s Word)
-or-
Therefore, he kept him safe.

protected: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as protected means “kept safe” or “preserved.” John was in prison, but Herod did not allow Herodias to have him killed.

6:20d

When he heard John’s words: It is implied here that John preached to Herod on several occasions. You could make this explicit as follows:

Every time he heard John
-or-
Whenever Herod heard John

It is implied that someone brought John from the prison in order for John to speak to Herod.

he was greatly perplexed: (There is a textual issue here: (1) Some Greek manuscripts have he was greatly disturbed/perplexed. For example, the New Living Translation says: “Herod was greatly disturbed” (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Century Version). (2) Some Greek manuscripts have he did many things. For example, the King James Version says: “he did many things” (King James Version). It is recommended that you follow option (1) as most English versions do.) The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as perplexed means “troubled” or “disturbed.” He was troubled because he was uncertain or confused about what to do.

It is implied that Herod was uncertain about what he should do in response to John’s teaching. Herod respected John very much, but he did not want to obey John’s teaching.

In Greek the word perplexed is intensified by a word the Berean Standard Bible translates as greatly. Use a word or expression here that shows that Herod was very troubled or disturbed.

6:20e

yet he listened to him gladly: The word yet shows a contrast with the statement in 6:20d.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

20dWhen he heard him, he was much perplexed, 20ebut he heard him gladly.
-or-
20d
Even though Herod was troubled/disturbed by John’s preaching, 20ehe liked to listen to him.

he listened to him gladly: The phrase he listened to him gladly means that Herod was willing and happy to hear John preach.

General Comment on 6:20d–e

It may be helpful in your language to reorder 6:20d–e and make explicit some of the implied information. For example:

Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him. (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
Even though Herod was disturbed by what John said, he was glad to listen to him. And he often did.
-or-
He liked to listen to him, although what he heard left him greatly disturbed. (Revised English Bible)

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.