Bible Strands
Mark 6:18
For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — John addresses Herod directly, declaring the king’s marriage to Herodias unlawful. This confrontation occurs while Herod has already ordered John arrested and bound, precisely because of the marriage John condemned.
The words — The Greek ἔλεγεν (elegen) translates literally as “were saying” or “kept saying,” marking repeated prophetic address. The conjunction γὰρ (gar) means “for,” anchoring John’s statement to the immediate context of Herod’s imprisonment.
The thread — John’s declaration directly invokes the prohibition against marrying a brother’s wife found in Leviticus 18:16 and Leviticus 20:21. The motif of a prophet confronting a ruling figure also appears in 1 Kings 22:14.
Why it lands — The text records a direct verbal challenge to political authority that triggers immediate retaliation. It requires the reader to acknowledge that speaking truth to power carries concrete relational and physical 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
For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.
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.
- 1 Kings 22:14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
- Ezekiel 3:18 If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.
- 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,
- Acts 20:26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
- Acts 24:24 After several days, Felix returned with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.