What Does Matthew 14:6 Mean in the King James?
But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Herod’s pleasure is more than a reaction: the Greek word belongs to the same family as “people-pleaser,” making approval a force in the scene.
THE MEANING
A powerful person’s pleasure sets the room’s terms. The dance happens before the court, but Herod’s response is the hinge: what delights him gains weight for everyone there.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that approval is only a private feeling; when the person pleased holds power, that approval can set events in motion.
THE ROOT
ἤρεσεν
ēresen
GROWS FROM
ἀρέσκω
areskō
To be agreeable, please, or satisfy.
The word translated “pleased” belongs to a Greek word family that includes “people-pleaser.” That connection makes approval visible as a force: Herod’s delight is part of how this scene turns.
ALSO GROWS
anthrōpareskos: People-pleaser; one who seeks to please people.
ἀνθρωπάρεσκος
This compound uses the same pleasing word family, showing how the pursuit of approval can become a defining motive.
euarestos: Well-pleasing; acceptable.
εὐάρεστος
This related form shows that the same word family describes what wins approval, whether from a ruler or another audience.
THE PATTERN
When human approval becomes the measure, it can direct choices made under power.
Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.THE THREAD
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.Matthew uses a form of the Greek verb meaning “please”; Galatians uses that same verb when it asks whether a person seeks to please people. One verse shows approval moving through a ruler’s court, while the other makes visible the allegiance that approval can demand.
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