Bible Strands
Luke 3:19
But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — John the Baptist confronts Herod the tetrarch regarding his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, immediately after John’s public proclamation of the good news. This direct rebuke occurs right before Herod orders John imprisoned.
The words — ἐλεγχόμενος (elegchomenos) literally means being reproved or brought to account for wrongdoing. The text states that John used this public correction to address Herod’s illicit union and all the evils he had committed.
The thread — The same confrontation and subsequent imprisonment appear in Matthew 14:3 and Mark 6:17, where both accounts note Herod arrested John on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Luke 3:1 also establishes Herod’s title as tetrarch of Galilee during the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that prophetic correction confronts established authority without negotiation. It demands recognition that speaking truth to power carries immediate, tangible consequences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
Cross-references
- Matthew 14:3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
- Mark 6:17 For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.
- Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
- Proverbs 15:12 A mocker does not love to be reproved, nor will he consult the wise.
- Matthew 11:2 Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples
- Proverbs 9:7 He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.