Mark 6:16

Simplified Cowboy Version

But when Herod heard all the rumors he said, "I cut off John the Baptist's head and now he has come back!"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When Herod heard of it, he said, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!”

King James Version (1611)
But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is Iohn, whome I beheaded, he is risen from the dead.

King James Version
But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

English Standard Version
But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

New American Standard Bible
But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen!"

New Century Version
When Herod heard this, he said, "I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has risen from the dead!"

Amplified Bible
But when Herod heard [of it], he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen [from the dead]!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen!"

Legacy Standard Bible
But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen!"

Berean Standard Bible
But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"

Contemporary English Version
But when Herod heard about Jesus, he said, "This must be John! I had his head cut off, and now he has come back to life."

Complete Jewish Bible
But when Herod heard about it, he said, "Yochanan, whom I had beheaded, has been raised."

Darby Translation
But Herod when he heard [it] said, John whom *I* beheaded, he it is; *he* is risen [from among the dead].

Easy-to-Read Version
Herod heard these things about Jesus. He said, "I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has been raised from death!"

Geneva Bible (1587)
So when Herod heard it, he said, It is Iohn whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

George Lamsa Translation
But when Herod heard it, he said, John, whom I beheaded; it is he who has risen from the dead.

Good News Translation
When Herod heard it, he said, "He is John the Baptist! I had his head cut off, but he has come back to life!"

Lexham English Bible
But when Herod heard it, he said, "John whom I beheaded—this one has been raised!"

Literal Translation
But hearing, Herod said, This one is John whom I beheaded. He has risen from the dead.

American Standard Version
But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen.

Bible in Basic English
But Herod, when he had news of it, said, John, whom I put to death, has come back from the dead.

Hebrew Names Version
But Herod, when he heard this, said, "This is Yochanan, whom I beheaded. He has risen from the dead."

International Standard Version
But when Herod heard about it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!"Matthew 14:2; Luke 3:19;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But when Herodes heard, he said, It is Juchanon whom I beheaded; he hath risen from [fn] among the dead.

Murdock Translation
But when Herod heard [fn] , he said: He is that John whose head I struck off: he is risen from the dead.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But when Herode hearde of hym, he saide: It is Iohn, whom I beheaded, he is rysen from death agayne.

English Revised Version
But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen.

World English Bible
But Herod, when he heard this, said, "This is John, whom I beheaded. He has risen from the dead."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But Herod hearing thereof, said, This is that John whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

Weymouth's New Testament
But when Herod heard of Him, he said, "The John, whom I beheaded, has come back to life."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne this thing was herd, Eroude seide, This Joon, whom Y haue biheedide, is risun ayen fro deeth.

Update Bible Version
But Herod, when he heard [thereof], said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen.

Webster's Bible Translation
But when Herod heard [of him], he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he hath risen from the dead.

New English Translation
But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!"

New King James Version
But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"

New Living Translation
When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead."

New Life Bible
When Herod heard this, he said, "It is John the Baptist, whose head I cut off. He has been raised from the dead."

New Revised Standard
But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, when Herod heard, he was saying - He whom I beheaded - John, the same, hath been raised.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Which Herod hearing, said: John whom I beheaded, he is risen again from the dead.

Revised Standard Version
But when Herod heard of it he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But when Herode hearde of him he sayd: it is Iohn whom I beheded he is rysen from deeth agayne.

Young's Literal Translation
And Herod having heard, said -- `He whom I did behead -- John -- this is he; he was raised out of the dead.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But when Herode herde it, he sayde: It is Ihon whom I beheeded, he is rysen againe from the deed.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but Herod, from what he had heard, said, 'tis John himself, whom I caused to be beheaded, who is risen from the dead.

THE MESSAGE
But Herod wouldn't budge: "It's John, sure enough. I cut off his head, and now he's back, alive."

Contextual Overview

¹⁴During this, King Herod heard about everything Jesus was doing. Some were telling him John the Baptist had been raised from the dead to do miracles ¹⁵and others said Jesus was Elijah or a new cowboy of God like there used to be in the olden days. ¹⁶But when Herod heard all the rumors he said, "I cut off John the Baptist's head and now he has come back!" ¹⁷Herod was quite a fright because he had had John arrested and killed because he'd made a promise to his wife. That old gal was a burr under his saddle blanket because she made him kill John. ¹⁸John had criticized Herod for marrying her in the first place. This wasn't just some gal off the street. She had been married to Herod's brother, Philip. It was against God's law to marry your brother's wife if he was still alive and Philip was still kicking around somewhere. ¹⁹So Herodias (Herod's no-account wife) held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, ²⁰but Herod had kind of taken a liking to a cowboy like John who spoke the truth and rode for God. He didn't really know what to think about the things that John said, but he liked listening to him. ²¹So on Herod's birthday, he threw himself a party and all the important people in his kingdom came to it. ²²Herodias's daughter came in and danced for the king. He took such a liking to it that he slipped up and said she could have anything she wanted ²³—even up to half of his kingdom!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

It is: Genesis 40:10, Genesis 40:11, Psalms 53:5, Matthew 14:2, Matthew 27:4, Luke 9:9, Revelation 11:10-13

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:18 - the men 1 Kings 17:18 - art thou come Matthew 3:1 - John John 19:12 - from Acts 13:25 - fulfilled Revelation 20:4 - beheaded

Cross-References

Luke 13:25
When the boss shuts the gate, it will be too late. You will stand outside and beg and plead, but the boss will say, 'I will not. You're not one of my cowboys.'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But when Herod heard thereof,.... Either of Christ, or rather of the different opinions about him,

he said, it is John, whom I have beheaded: the thought stuck close to him, and continued with him; he could not get rid of it, nor persuade himself to the contrary; nor could any of his servants get him off of it, but he affirmed it with the greatest assurance imaginable. These different sentiments of the people concerning Jesus, greatly perplexed the mind of Herod, as appears from Luke 9:7, for it was first given out by others, and not by Herod, that John the Baptist was

risen from the dead; which he hearing of, gave him great uneasiness: he thoroughly considered the matter; he called to mind how he had used him, imprisoned him, and put him to death. At first he could not receive it, that since he was beheaded by him, he should be restored to life; but hearing of the miracles that were done by him, his conscience accused him, his fancy worked, and at length he firmly believed it, that he must be risen: and this sentiment, which he himself gave into at last, distressed him above all the rest, because of his concern in his death, fearing he was come to life to take vengeance on him: it might not sit very easy upon his mind, to bear that Elias had appeared the forerunner of the Messiah, the king of the Jews; who himself might be quickly expected, and who, he might fear, would seize upon, and take away that part of the kingdom which he was possessed of: and even to be told, that one of the prophets was risen from the dead, might be shocking to him; imagining that something of considerable moment was to be done, some revolution to be made; that the people would be stirred up by him, to attempt a change of government: but the first of these made the greatest impression on him, and what he could not get off, but fully gave into, as a thing unquestionable. He owns he beheaded John; he was conscious to himself of the sin, and confesses it; he does not lay it to the charge of Herodias and her daughter, though they requested it; the guilt of it lay upon his conscience, and he dreaded this appearance of John, as he fancied. And if he was a Sadducee before, as he has been thought to be, he now changed his mind, and believed a resurrection from the dead. So men may be convinced of sin, and entertain other and better notions of religion, and yet not be converted persons.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See this account of the death of John the Baptist fully explained in the notes at Matthew 14:1-12.

Mark 6:20

For Herod feared John - That is, he stood in awe of him on account of his sanctity, and his boldness and fearlessness in reproving sin.

Knowing that he was a just man and an Holy - A holy, pious, upright, honest man - a man who would not be afraid of him, or afraid to speak his real sentiments.

And observed him - Margin, “kept him, or saved him.” This does not mean that he “observed” or obeyed his teachings, but that he kept him in safe custody in order to preserve him from the machinations of Herodias. He was willing to show his respect for John, and to secure him from danger, and even to do “many things” which might indicate respect for him - at least, to do so much as to guard him from his enemies.

And did many things - But he did not do the thing which was demanded of him - to break off from his sins. He attempted to make a compromise with his conscience. He still loved his sins, and did “other” things which he supposed might be accepted in the place of putting away, as he ought, the wife of his brother - the polluted and adulterous woman with whom he lived. Perhaps he treated John kindly, or spoke well of him, or aided him in his wants, and attempted in this way to silence his rebukes and destroy his faithfulness. This was probably before John was imprisoned. So sinners often treat ministers kindly, and do much to make them comfortable, and hear them gladly, while they are still unwilling to do the thing which is demanded of them - to repent and believe the gospel. They expect that their kind attentions will be accepted in the place of what God demands - repentance and the forsaking of their sins.