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And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger.
Matthew 14:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.”
  • BSB Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
  • ESV Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”
  • NKJV So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”
  • NASB And after being prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”
  • NLT At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

Prompted by her mother, the girl demands John's head on a platter. Herodias seizes her chance to destroy the prophet who condemned her.

Overview

Instructed beforehand by Herodias, the daughter asks for John the Baptist's head served on a platter. The gruesome request reveals the depth of Herodias's hatred for the prophet who had exposed her sin. The verse portrays how unrepented sin breeds murderous resentment against those who speak God's truth.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Mark 6:24And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
  • Prov 29:10The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.
  • 1 Kgs 18:4For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
  • 1 Kgs 18:13Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
  • 1 Kgs 19:2Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
  • 2 Kgs 11:1And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
  • 2 Chr 22:2–3Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
  • Prov 1:16For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
  • Num 7:84–85This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold:
  • Num 7:19He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:
  • Ezra 1:9And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,
  • Num 7:13And his offering was one silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them were full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 14:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 14:8 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.