Bible Strands
Mark 6:16
But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Herod addresses his court immediately after the crowds speculate that Jesus is Elijah or a prophet, responding to the news of Jesus’ miracles.
The words — ἀκούσας (akousas) translates literally as "having heard," establishing the direct trigger for his statement, while ἐγὼ (egō) emphasizes his personal involvement in the execution.
The thread — This declaration parallels the report in Matthew 14:2 where Herod’s servants attribute Jesus’ power to a risen John, and it aligns with the pattern in Psalms 53:5 where divine intervention provokes dread in the absence of threat.
Why it lands — The text records Herod’s factual confession of his past crime and his present fear, requiring the reader to acknowledge the irreversible consequences of opposing God’s appointed messengers without softening the statement with comfort.
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 when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
Cross-references
- Genesis 40:10 and on the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes.
- Psalms 53:5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.
- Matthew 14:2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
- Matthew 27:4 “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”
- Luke 9:9 “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.
- Revelation 11:10 And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.