Matthew Chapter 14, Verse 9
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9: και ελυπηθη ο βασιλευς δια δε τους ορκους και τους συνανακειμενους εκελευσεν δοθηναι
9: And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and
them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given
her.
9: And the king was struck sad: yet because of his oath, and for them
that sat with him at table, he commanded it to be given.
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," that is, regarded him with respect and veneration. He had done some things in obedience to John's precepts, Mk 6:20.
(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 the 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 men. He was afraid of the charge of cowardice, and want of spirit; afraid of ridicule, and the contempt of the wicked.
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.
