Matthew 14:4
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
For John said to him, It is not lawful for you to have her.
American King James Version (AKJV)
For John said to him, It is not lawful for you to have her.
American Standard Version (ASV)
For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Because John had said to him, It is not right for you to have her.
Webster's Revision
For John had said to him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
World English Bible
For John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
English Revised Version (ERV)
For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
Clarke's Matthew 14:4 Bible Commentary
For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. - Here is an instance of zeal, fidelity, and courage, highly worthy of imitation. Plainness, mildness, and modesty, are qualifications necessary to be observed when we reprove the great. The best service a subject can render his prince is to lay before him, in the plainest but most respectful manner, what the law of God requires of him, and what it forbids. How unutterable must the punishment of those be who are chaplains to princes, or great men, and who either flatter them in their vices, or wink at their sins!
Wesley's Matthew 14:4 Bible Commentary
14:4 It is not lawful for thee to have her — It was not lawful indeed for either of them to have her. For her father Aristobulus was their own brother. John's words were rough, like his raiment. He would not break the force of truth by using soft words, even to a king.