Matthew 14:5

And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
when	θέλων thelōn	G2309	to determine (as an active option from subjective impul… · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
he	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
have	θέλω thélō	G2309	to determine (as an active option from subjective impul…
death	ἀποκτεῖναι apokteinai	G615	to kill outright · verb — aorist active infinitive
feared	ἐφοβήθη ephobēthē	G5399	to frighten · verb — aorist passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
multitude	ὄχλον ochlon	G3793	a throng (as borne along) · noun — accusative singular masculine
because	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
counted	εἶχον.¶ eichon	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
as	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
prophet	προφήτην prophētēn	G4396	a foreteller ("prophet") · noun — accusative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 11:9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
Matthew 21:26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
Matthew 21:32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye…
Mark 6:19-20 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
Mark 11:30-32 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.
Mark 14:1-2 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him…
Luke 20:6 But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.
Acts 4:21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men g…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 14:1-12

We have here the story of John's martyrdom. Observe, I. The occasion of relating this story here, Mat 14:1, Mat 14:2. Here is, 1. The account brought to Herod of the miracles which Christ wrought. Herod the tetrarch or chief governor of Galilee heard of the fame of Jesus. At that time, when his countrymen slighted him, upon the account of his meanness and obscurity, he began to be famous at court. Note, God will honour those that are despised for his sake. And the gospel, like the sea, gets in one place what it loses in another. Christ had now been preaching and working miracles above two years; yet, it should seem, Herod had not heard of him till now, and now only heard the fame of him. Not…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 14:2

And said unto his servants--his counsellors or court-ministers. This is John the Baptist: he is risen from the dead, &c.--The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a specter and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers in the person of Jesus. Account of the Baptist's Imprisonment and Death (Mat 14:3-12). For the exposition of this portion, see on Mar 6:17-29.

John Gill on Matthew 14:5

And when he would have put him to death,.... As soon as he apprehended him, and put him into prison; being provoked by his reproving him, and being stirred up by Herodias, who was greatly incensed and enraged, and would have killed him herself, but could not, being hindered by Herod: who, though he had a good will and strong inclination to take away his life, yet what with fearing the terror of his own conscience, and the reverence and respect he had for John, as a good man; and especially for the reason here given, he did not do it, for he feared the multitude: not God, but the multitude; and these, not only the large number of people that attended on John's ministry, and were baptized by…

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John Calvin on Matthew 14:3-12

The Church Fathers

He feared a disturbance among the people for John's sake, for he knew that multitudes had been baptized by him in Jordan; but he was overcome by love of his wife, which had already made him neglect the commands of. God.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Verse 5.) And wanting to kill him, he feared the people: for they held him as a prophet. Indeed, he feared the sedition of the people because of John, from whom he knew that many crowds had been baptized in the Jordan; but he was overcome by the love of his wife, because of whose ardor he had even neglected the commandments of God (Genesis 40).
— Jerome, Commentary on Matthew

"And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people." That person readily turns away from justice who, in matters at issue, fears not God but people. Such fear can restrain the power to sin but is unable to remove the will to sin. Hence, those whom it has restrained from crime, it makes all the more eager to return to crime. It is only the fear of God that can set minds straight, repel criminal actions, preserve innocence and give steadfast power. But let us focus on the passionate intensity of blessed John.
— Peter Chrysologus, SERMONS 127.7

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Antipas — (1.) Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great by his Samaritan wife Malthace. He was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea during the whole period of our Lord’s life on earth (Luke 23:7). He was a frivolous…
Herodias — (Matt. 14:3-11; Mark 6:17-28; Luke 3:19), the daughter of Aristobulus and Bernice. While residing at Rome with her husband Herod Philip I. and her daughter, Herod Antipas fell in with her during one…
John the Baptist — The “forerunner of our Lord.” We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1 Chr.…
Herod · .Beheads — .Beheads
John · His inf — His inf
Politics · .Herodias, in inf — .Herodias, in inf
Prisoners · General references — General references

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 14:1-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 14:2

John Gill on Matthew 14:5

John Calvin on Matthew 14:3-12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 14:1-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 14:2

John Gill on Matthew 14:5

John Calvin on Matthew 14:3-12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 14:4