Paragraph 6:21–29

The previous paragraph implied that Herodias had wanted to kill John for some time. In this paragraph, Mark told about a new development in the story: a banquet on Herod’s birthday. During this banquet, Herodias finally had a chance to have John killed.

6:21a–c

On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles…: This verse contains two time phrases, her opportunity arose and On Herod’s birthday. In some languages it may sound as if these two phrases refer to two different times or days. To avoid this misunderstanding, some English versions have made it clearer that these two phrases refer to the same time. For example:

Herodias found her opportunity when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet to his chief officials… (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Finally Herodias got her chance. It was on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a feast for all the top government officials… (Good News Bible)

In some languages it may be more natural to put the information about Herodias after the information about Herod’s birthday. For example:

21bBut one day, Herod gave a feast 21ato celebrate the day of his birth. 21cHe invited his high officials…. 21aAnd that was Herodias’ chance to cause John to be killed. This is how it happened.
-or-
21aAfter some time, Herod celebrated his birthday. 21cHe invited his high officials…21bto join in the celebration/feast. 21aDuring this feast, Herodias had an opportunity to have John killed.

6:21a

On Herod’s birthday: Herod celebrated the day of the year on which he had been born. If people do not celebrate birthdays in your culture, you may need to make this information explicit.

Here are some other ways to translate the word birthday:

the day when another year of his life was finished
-or-
the day when a new year of his life started
-or-
the day of the year on which he had been born

her opportunity arose: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as her opportunity arose is literally “a suitable day came.” This means that on a certain day, Herodias had an opportunity to have John killed. In many languages this will be best expressed by an idiom. For example:

the perfect time came (New Century Version)
-or-
Herodias had an opportunity
-or-
Herodias got her chance (Good News Bible)

6:21b

Herod held a banquet: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Herod held a banquet means that Herod ordered a feast to be given. This was a feast in Herod’s honor. His servants prepared the food.

6:21c

for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee: Herod invited three types of people to his birthday feast: nobles, military commanders, and leading men. (The notes below describe these types of people.) If it is difficult to find three distinct terms in your language, this could be expressed in a more general way, such as:

all his chiefs and the important men of Galilee

nobles: The term nobles refers to the government leaders under Herod. They were his closest political advisors. They could also be called the “chief men” or “great ones” or “high officials.” The Good News Bible calls them “top government officials.”

military commanders: The term military commanders refers to men who led large numbers of soldiers. They were the leaders of Herod’s army.

the leading men of Galilee: The leading men of Galilee were the “important men” of the region of Galilee. They were the ones who were influential among the people. They may not have had official position, but they were powerful because of their wealth, their relationships or other ways they had of influencing people. The Good News Bible calls them “the leading citizens of Galilee.”

Galilee: Galilee is a region in the northern part of the land where Jesus lived. See how you translated this word in 1:9a.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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