And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!”
Parallel translations
- WEB He swore to her, “Whatever you shall ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
- KJV And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
- NKJV He also swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
- NASB And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to half of my kingdom.”
- NLT He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Herod sealed his offer with an oath, promising up to half his kingdom. It shows how pride traps a sinner in commitments he should never have made.
Overview
Herod's grandiose oath, echoing language used in Esther, was meant to display his generosity before his guests. Bound by misplaced honor, he set himself up to be manipulated. Scripture shows that a foolish oath does not bind one to commit sin; Herod's later regret proves he knew, too late, that keeping such a vow was itself evil.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Esth 7:2and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”
- Esth 5:3“What is it, Queen Esther?” the king inquired. “What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.”
- Esth 5:6And as they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”
- Matt 4:9“All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”
- 1 Sam 28:10Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.”
- 2 Kgs 6:31He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
- Prov 6:2if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
- Matt 14:7so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.
- Matt 5:34–37But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 6:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.