And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.

And king Herod heard, (for his name was made manifest,) and he said: John the Baptist is risen again from the dead, and therefore mighty works shew forth themselves in him.

And Herod the king heard of him (for his name had become public), and said, John the baptist is risen from among the dead, and on this account works of power are wrought by him.

And king Herod heard thereof; for his name had become known: and he said, John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in him.

And king Herod heard of him (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist had risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.

And the king Herod heard, (for his name became public,) and he said, 'John the Baptist out of the dead was raised, and because of this the mighty powers are working in him.'

King Herod heard of all this (for the name of Jesus had become widely known)

And king Herod had news of him, because his name was on the lips of all; and he said, John the Baptist has come back from the dead, and for this reason these powers are working in him.

And king Herod heard of it, (for his name had become well-known) and he said: "John the Baptist has risen again from the dead, and because of this, miracles are at work in him."

Now King Herod heard of Jesus; for his name had become well known. People were saying – "John the Baptizer must have risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are active in him."

The reason why the Evangelists relate this occurrence is, to inform us that the name of Christ was universally celebrated, and, therefore, the Jews could not be excused on the plea of ignorance. Many might otherwise have been perplexed by this question, "How came it that, while Christ dwelt on the earth, Judea remained in a profound sleep, as if he had withdrawn into some corner, and had displayed to none his divine power?" The Evangelists accordingly state, that the report concerning him was everywhere spread abroad, and penetrated even into the court of Herod.

See this account of the death of John the Baptist fully explained in the notes at Matthew 14:1-12.

And king Herod heard? - Την ακοην αοτου, his fame, is added by KM, fifteen others, and in the margin of several. It seems necessary to complete the sense.

(5) And king Herod heard [of him]; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty (i) works do shew forth themselves in him.
(5) The gospel confirms the godly and vexes the wicked.
(i) The word signifies powers, by which is meant the power of working miracles.

And king Herod heard of him,.... "Of Jesus", as the Syriac version supplies it; or "the miracles of Jesus", as the Persic version. This Herod here called a king, as he might be by his courtiers, and the common people, is the same with the Tetrarch in Matthew 14:1, for he was only Tetrarch of Galilee. This was Herod Antipater, the son of Herod the Great; the fame of Jesus reached his ears, he being governor of those parts, which were mostly visited by Christ:
for his name was spread abroad; by means of his ministry and miracles, and through those of his disciples, whom he had sent two by two into all parts of the country:
and he said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him; for Herod had some time before put John to death; and hearing of these wonderful things that were done by Christ, his conscience smote him for the murder of John; and such a thought struck into his mind, that he was risen from the dead, and did these miracles: and the more he thought of it, the more strongly he was persuaded of it; and told it to his courtiers with a great deal of assurance, that it was certainly he; See Gill on Matthew 14:2.

Herod feared John while he lived, and feared him still more when he was dead. Herod did many of those things which John in his preaching taught him; but it is not enough to do many things, we must have respect to all the commandments. Herod respected John, till he touched him in his Herodias. Thus many love good preaching, if it keep far away from their beloved sin. But it is better that sinners persecute ministers now for faithfulness, than curse them eternally for unfaithfulness. The ways of God are unsearchable; but we may be sure he never can be at a loss to repay his servants for what they endure or lose for his sake. Death could not come so as to surprise this holy man; and the triumph of the wicked was short.

HEROD THINKS JESUS A RESURRECTION OF THE MURDERED BAPTIST--ACCOUNT OF HIS DEATH. ( = Matthew 14:1-12; Luke 9:7-9). (Mark 6:14-29)
And King Herod--that is, Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of Herod the Great, and own brother of Archelaus (Matthew 2:22), who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea.
heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad); and he said--"unto his servants" (Matthew 14:2), his councillors or court ministers.
That John the Baptist was risen from the dead--The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a specter, and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers, in the person of Jesus.

And king Herod heard of him. For Herod's opinion of Christ and the death of John the Baptist, see notes on Matthew 14:1-12. Compare Luke 9:7-9.

Matthew 14:1; Luke 9:7.