For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.

For Herod had apprehended John and bound him, and put him into prison, because of Herodias, his brother's wife.

For Herod had seized John, and had bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother.

For Herod having laid hold on John, did bind him, and did put him in prison, because of Herodias his brother Philip's wife,

For Herod had arrested John, and had put him in chains, and imprisoned him, for the sake of Herodias his brother Philip's wife,

For Herod had taken John and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

For Herod had arrested John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

For Herod had apprehended John, and bound him, and put him in prison, because of Herodias, the wife of his brother.

For Herod had arrested John, put him in chains, and shut him up in prison, to please Herodias, the wife of Herod's brother Philip.

For Herod had laid hold on John - See Mark 6:17-20; Luke 3:19-20. This Herodias was a granddaughter of Herod the Great. She was first married to Herod Philip, by whom she had a daughter, Salome, probably the one that danced and pleased Herod. Josephus says that this marriage of Herod Antipas with Herodias took place while he was on a journey to Rome. He stopped at his brother's; fell in love with his wife; agreed to put away his own wife, the daughter of Aretas, King of Petraea; and Herodias agreed to leave her own husband and live with him. They were living, therefore, in adultery; and John, in faithfulness, though at the risk of his life, had reproved them for their crimes. Herod was guilty of two crimes in this act:
1. Of "adultery," since she was the wife of another man.
2. Of "incest," since she was a near relation, and such marriages were expressly forbidden, Leviticus 18:16.

For Herodias' sake - This infamous woman was the daughter of Aristobulus and Bernice, and grand-daughter of Herod the Great. Her first marriage was with Herod Philip, her uncle, by whom she had Salome: some time after, she left her husband, and lived publicly with Herod Antipas, her brother-in-law, who had been before married to the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Petraea. As soon as Aretas understood that Herod had determined to put away his daughter, he prepared to make war on him: the two armies met, and that of Herod was cut to pieces by the Arabians; and this, Josephus says, was supposed to be a judgment of God on him for the murder of John the Baptist. See the account in Josephus, Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 7.

For Herod had laid hold on John,.... By his servants, whom he sent to apprehend him:
and bound him; laid him in chains, as if he was a malefactor;
and put him in prison, in the castle of Machaerus (d),
for Herodias's sake; who was angry with him, had a bitter quarrel against him, and by whose instigation all this was done; who was
his brother Philip's wife. This Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, son to Herod the Great (e), and brother to Philip, and to this Herod; so that she was niece to them both; and first married the one, and then the other, whilst the former was living. Philip and this Herod were both sons of Herod the Great, but not by the same woman; Philip was born of Cleopatra of Jerusalem, and Herod Antipas of Malthace, a Samaritan (f); so that Philip was his brother by his father's side, but not by his mother's; the Evangelist Mark adds, "for he had married her": the case was this, Herod being sent for to Rome, called at his brother Philip's by the way, where he fell into an amorous intrigue with his wife, and agreed, upon his return, to take her with him and marry her; as he accordingly did, and divorced his own wife, who was daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Petraea; which occasioned a war between Herod and his wife's father, in which the former was beaten (g),
(d) Joseph. Antiqu. 1. 18. c. 7. (e) Ib. c. 6. (f) Joseph. Antiqu. 1. 18. c. 6. de Bello Jude. l. 1. c. 28. sect. 7. (g) Joseph. Antiqu. 1. 18. c. 6.

For Herod had laid hold on John. This arrest of John the Baptist had taken place a year previous, shortly before our Lord's second visit to Galilee (Matthew 4:12; Mark 1:14), the events of which are given by John, chapter 4. The prison was the castle of MachÃ&brvbr;rus. See note on Matthew 11:2 .
Herodias' sake. Antipas had been, while at Rome, the guest of his brother Herod Philip. Here he became entangled by the snares of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; and he repaid the hospitality he had received by carrying her off. He had himself long been married to the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia. This Herodias was the granddaughter of "Herod the King," and, hence, the niece of both her lawful husband and of Herod Antipas, who now had her.

His brother Philip's wife - Who was still alive. Mark 6:17.