Matthew 14:11

Easy-to-Read Version

And the men brought John's head on a plate and gave it to the girl. Then she took the head to her mother, Herodias.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

King James Version (1611)
And his head was brought in a charger, and giuen to the Damsell: and she brought it to her mother.

King James Version
And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

English Standard Version
and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

New American Standard Bible
And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

New Century Version
And they brought it on a platter and gave it to the girl, and she took it to her mother.

Amplified Bible
His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother [Herodias].

Geneva Bible (1587)
And his head was brought in a platter, and giuen to the maide, and shee brought it vnto her mother.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

Legacy Standard Bible
And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

Berean Standard Bible
John's head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

Contemporary English Version
It was taken on a platter to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

Complete Jewish Bible
The head was brought on a platter to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

Darby Translation
and his head was brought upon a dish, and was given to the damsel, and she carried [it] to her mother.

George Lamsa Translation
And his head was brought in on a tray, and given to the girl; and she took it to her mother.

Good News Translation
The head was brought in on a plate and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.

Lexham English Bible
and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

Literal Translation
And his head was brought on a platter and was given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

American Standard Version
And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

Bible in Basic English
And his head was put on a plate and given to the girl; and she took it to her mother.

Hebrew Names Version
His head was brought on a platter, and given to the young lady: and she brought it to her mother.

International Standard Version
His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother.

Etheridge Translation
And his head was brought in a dish, and given to the girl, and she carried it herself to her mother.

Murdock Translation
And the head was brought in a dish and given to the girl; and she brought it to her mother.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And his head was brought in a platter, and geuen to the damsell: and [she] brought it to her mother.

English Revised Version
And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

World English Bible
His head was brought on a platter, and given to the young lady: and she brought it to her mother.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
and given to the damsel, and she carried it to her mother.

Weymouth's New Testament
The head was brought on a dish and given to the young girl, and she took it to her mother.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And his heed was brouyt in a dische, and it was youun to the damysel, and she bar it to hir modir.

Update Bible Version
And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the girl: and she brought it to her mother.

Webster's Bible Translation
And his head was brought in a dish, and given to the damsel: and she brought [it] to her mother.

New English Translation
His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

New King James Version
And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

New Living Translation
and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.

New Life Bible
It was brought in on a plate and given to the girl. She brought it to her mother.

New Revised Standard
The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And his head was brought upon a charger, and given unto the maiden, and she brought it to her mother.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And his head was brought in a dish: and it was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother.

Revised Standard Version
and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and his heed was brought in a platter and geven to the damsell and she brought it to her mother.

Young's Literal Translation
and his head was brought upon a plate, and was given to the damsel, and she brought [it] nigh to her mother.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And his heed was brought in a platter, and geuen to the damsell, & she brought it vnto her mother.

Mace New Testament (1729)
whence his head was brought in a charger, and given to the young lady, who carried it to her mother.

Simplified Cowboy Version
and brought on a tray to the daughter who then took it to her momma.

Contextual Overview

¹ About that time, Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard what the people were saying about Jesus. ² So he said to his servants, "This man is really John the Baptizer. He must have risen from death, and that is why he can do these miracles." ³ Before this time, Herod had arrested John. He had him chained and put in prison. He arrested John because of Herodias, the wife of Philip, Herod's brother. ⁴ John had told him, "It is not right for you to be married to Herodias." ⁵ Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people. They believed that John was a prophet. ⁶ On Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for him and his group. Herod was very pleased with her. ⁷ So he promised that he would give her anything she wanted. ⁸ Herodias told her daughter what to ask for. So she said to Herod, "Give me the head of John the Baptizer here on this plate." ⁹ King Herod was very sad. But he had promised to give the daughter anything she wanted. And the people eating with Herod had heard his promise. So he ordered what she asked to be done. ¹⁰ He sent men to the prison, where they cut off John's head.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and given: Genesis 49:7, Proverbs 27:4, Proverbs 29:10, Jeremiah 22:17, Ezekiel 16:3, Ezekiel 16:4, Ezekiel 19:2, Ezekiel 19:3, Ezekiel 35:6, Revelation 16:6, Revelation 17:6

Reciprocal: Numbers 7:13 - charger 2 Samuel 4:7 - took his head 1 Chronicles 10:9 - took Mark 6:27 - the king

Cross-References

Genesis 12:5
He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the slaves, and all the other things he had gotten in Haran. Then he and his group moved to the land of Canaan.

Genesis 14:16
Then Abram brought back everything the enemy had stolen, as well as the women and servants, his nephew Lot, and everything Lot owned.

Genesis 14:21
Then the king of Sodom told Abram, "Give me my people who were captured. But you can keep everything else."

Deuteronomy 28:31
People will kill your cattle in front of you, but you will not eat any of the meat. People will take your donkeys, and they will not give them back to you. Your enemies will get your sheep, and there will be no one to help you.

Deuteronomy 28:35
The Lord will punish you with sore boils that cannot be healed. These boils will be on your knees and legs. The boils will be on every part of your body—from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head.

Deuteronomy 28:51
They will take your animals and the food you grow. They will take everything until they destroy you. They will not leave you any grain, wine, oil, cattle, sheep, or goats. They will take everything, until they destroy you.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ver. 11 And his head was brought in a charger,.... By the executioner that cut it off, to Herod, whilst he and his guests were at table; by which it should seem, that the prison was very near; and it is not improbable, that it was the castle of Macheerus that Herod made this entertainment in:

and given to the damsel; the daughter of Herodias, who, by her mother's instigation, had asked it, and who received it out of the hands of Herod himself; or however, it was delivered to her by his orders:

and she brought it to her mother; who had put her upon it, than which, nothing could be a more agreeable dish to her; and who, as Jerome says c, because she could not bear truth, that tongue which spoke truth; she plucked out, and pierced it through and through with a needle, as Fulvia did Cicero's: but this triumph over the faithful reprover of her, and Herod's vices, did not last long; for quickly after this, they were stripped of their honours and riches, and deprived of the kingdom, and banished to Lyons in France, where they died d. A Jewish chronologer says e, Herod was driven out of the land by Tiberius, and fled to Spain, and died there.

c Adv. Ruffin. Tom. 2. fol. 82. K. d Joseph. Antiqu. l. 18. c. 8. e Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See also Mark 6:21-29. But when Herod’s birthday was come Kings were accustomed to observe the day of their birth with much pomp, and commonly, also, by giving a feast to their principal nobility. See Genesis 40:20. Mark adds that this birthday was kept by making a supper to his “lords, high captains, and chief estates in Galilee;” that is to the chief men in office. “High captains” means, in the original, commanders of thousands, or of a division of 1,000 people.

The daughter of Herodias - That is, “Salome,” her daughter by her former husband. This was a violation of all the rules of modesty and propriety. One great principle of all eastern nations is to keep their females from public view. For this purpose they are confined in a particular part of the house, called the harem. See the notes at Matthew 9:1-8. If they appear in public, it is always with a veil, so closely drawn that their faces cannot be seen. No modest woman would have appeared in this manner before the court, and it is probable, therefore, that she partook of the dissolute principles of her mother. It is also probable that the dance was one well known in Greece - the lascivious and wanton dance of the Ionics.

Matthew 14:7

He promised with an oath - This a foolish and wicked oath.

To please a wanton girl, the monarch called the eternal God to witness his willingness to give her half his kingdom, Mark 6:23. It seems, also, that he was willing to shed the holiest blood it contained. An oath like this it was not lawful to make, and it should have been broken. See Matthew 14:9.

Matthew 14:8

Being before instructed of her mother - Not before she danced, but afterward, and before she made the request of Herod.

See Mark 6:24. The only appearance of what was right in the whole transaction was her honoring her mother by consulting her, but in this she only intended to accomplish the purposes of wickedness more effectively.

In a charger - The original word means a large platter on which food is placed. We should have supposed that she would have been struck with abhorrence at such a direction from her mother; but she seems to have been gratified. John, by his faithfulness, had offended the whole family, and here was ample opportunity for an adulterous mother and her dissolute child to gratify their resentment. It was customary for princes to require the heads of persons ordered for execution to be brought to them. For this there were two reasons:

1. To gratify their resentment - to feast their eyes on the proof that their enemy was dead; and,
2. To ascertain the fact that the sentence had been executed.

There is a similar instance in Roman history of a woman requiring the head of an enemy to be brought to her. Agrippina, the mother of Nero, who was afterward emperor, sent an officer to put to death Lollia Paulina, who had been her rival for the imperial dignity. When Lollia’s head was brought to her, not knowing it at first, she examined it with her own hands until she perceived some particular feature by which the lady was distinguished.

Matthew 14:9

And the king was sorry - There might have been several reasons for this.

1. Herod had a high respect for John, and feared him. He knew that he was a holy man, and had “observed him,” Mark 6:20. In the margin (Mark) this is “kept him,” or “saved him.” In fact he had interposed and saved John from being put to death by Herodias, who had had a quarrel with John, and would have killed him but for Herod, Mark 6:19. Herod, though a bad man, had a respect and veneration for John as a holy and just man, as wicked people often will have.

2. John was in high repute among the people, and Herod might have been afraid that his murder might excite commotion.

3. Herod, though a wicked man, does not appear to have been insensible to some of the common principles of human nature. Here was a great and most manifest crime proposed - no less than the murder of an acknowledged prophet of the Lord. It was deliberate. It was to gratify the malice of a wicked woman. It was the price of a few moments’ entertainment. His conscience, though in feeble and dying accents, checked him. He would have preferred a request not so manifestly wicked, and that would not have involved him in so much difficulty.

For the oath’s sake - Herod felt that he was bound by this oath; but he was not. The oath should not have been taken: but, being taken, he could not be bound by it. No oath could justify a man in committing murder. The true principle is, that Herod was bound by a prior obligation - by the law of God - not to commit murder; and no act of his, be it an oath or anything else, could free him from that obligation.

And them which sat with him at meat - This was the strongest reason why Herod murdered John. He had not firmness enough to obey the law of God and to follow the dictates of conscience against the opinions of wicked people. He was afraid of the charge of cowardice and want of spirit; afraid of ridicule and the contempt of the wicked. This is the principle of the laws of honor; this the foundation of dwelling. It is not so much for his own sake that one man murders another in a duel, for the offence is often a mere trifle - it is a word, or look, that never would injure him. It is because the “men of honor,” as they call themselves, his companions, would consider him a coward and would laugh at him. Those companions may be unprincipled contemners of the laws of God and man; and yet the duellist, against his own conscience, against the laws of God, against the good opinion of the virtuous part of the world, and against the laws of his country, seeks by deadly aim to murder another merely to gratify his dissolute companions. And this is the law of honor! This is the secret of duelling! This the source of that remorse that settles in awful blackness, and that thunders damnation around the duellist in his dying hours! It should be added, this is the course of all youthful guilt. Young men are led along by others. They have not firmness enough to follow the teachings of a father and of the law of God. They are afraid of being called mean and cowardly by the wicked; and they often sink low in vice and crime, never to rise again.

At meat - That is, at supper. The word “meat,” at the time the Bible was translated, meant provisions of all kinds. It is now restricted to flesh, and does not convey a full idea of the original.

Matthew 14:11

And his head was brought in a charger ... - For the sake of these wicked people, the bloody offering - the head of the slaughtered prophet was brought and given as the reward to the daughter and mother.

What an offering to a woman! Josephus says of Herodias that “she was a woman full of ambition and envy, having a mighty influence on Herod, and able to persuade him to things he was not at all inclined to.” This is one of the many proofs that we have that the evangelists drew characters according to truth.

Matthew 14:12

And his disciples ... - The head was with Herodias.

The body, with pious care, they buried.

And went and told Jesus - This was done, probably, for the following reasons:

1. It was an important event, and one particularly connected with the work of Jesus. John was his forerunner, and it was important that he should be made acquainted with his death.
2. It is not unreasonable to suppose that in their affliction they came to him for consolation; nor is it improper in our affliction to follow their example, and go and tell Jesus.
3. Their master had been slain by a cruel king. Jesus was engaged in the same cause, and they probably supposed that he was in danger. They therefore came to warn him of it, and he Matthew 14:13 sought a place of safety.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 14:11. His head was given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. — There is no person so revengeful as a lascivious woman when reproved and blamed. A preacher of the Gospel has most to fear from this quarter: - the first of this profession lost his life for the sake of truth and chastity; and others, especially those who have any thing to do with men in power who are profligates, may learn what they are to expect in return for a faithful discharge of their duty.