Paragraph 3:19–20

In the next two paragraphs Luke did not tell the events in the order in which they happened. Paragraph 3:19–20 tells about something that would happen after John baptized Jesus in 3:21–22. In some languages, it will be more natural to put these events in the order in which they actually happened. For example:

21When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

19
⌊Sometime after this⌋ John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done. 20⌊Then⌋ Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

3:19a

he rebuked Herod the tetrarch: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rebuked here means “to say that what someone did was wrong.” John said that what Herod did was wrong. It was sinful. John could have said this directly to Herod or he could have said it about him to other people.

In some languages it may be more natural to translate this as direct speech. In that case it is possible to say either:

John said about Herod the tetrarch, “He has done wrong….”
-or-
John told Herod the tetrarch, “You have done wrong….”

Herod the tetrarch: Herod was the name of the government leader of the district of Galilee.

Some ways to translate Herod the tetrarch are:

Herod the ruler (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the ruler Herod (God’s Word)
-or-
Herod the leader

This same phrase also occurs in 3:1c. See 3:1c for more details about the meaning of tetrarch.

3:19b

regarding his brother’s wife Herodias:
Herod had divorced his own wife and had married Herodias. Herodias had earlier been married to one of Herod’s half-brothers. It was against God’s law for Herod to marry her. Herod had sinned. For the whole story, see Mark 6:14–29.

In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:

because ⌊he had married⌋ Herodias, his brother’s wife

brother’s: In this context the word “brother” refers to an older half-brother. The two men had different mothers. (This half-brother, Herod Philip, is not the same as the half-brother named Philip who was mentioned in 3:1.)

3:19c

all the evils he had done: The phrase all the evils he had done indicates that John also rebuked Herod because of other ways that Herod had sinned.

General Comment on 3:19a–c

In some languages it may be natural to reorder this verse and put it in chronological order. For example:

19bHerod the tetrarch ⌊had married⌋ his brother’s wife Herodias 19cand had done many other evil things, 19a⌊so⌋ John rebuked him.

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