What Does Mark 6:20 Mean?
For Herod feared John, knowing that he was an aligned man and set apart, and he kept watch over him. And when he heard him, he was often left without a way through, and heard him gladly.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.THE KEY
Herod keeps John close and enjoys hearing him, yet the truth’s nearness does not dissolve his fear.
THE MEANING
You can recognize a voice as just and set apart, keep it near, and hear it gladly while fear remains active in the relationship. Herod does many things and listens willingly, yet the verse leaves his fear beside his admiration.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
If I can recognize the truth and enjoy hearing it, then fear has already lost its hold.
THE ROOT
συνετήρει
synetērei
GROWS FROM
τηρέω
tēreō
to keep, watch over, or guard
“kept watch over” in this verse is synetērei. The Greek verb συνετήρει comes from συντηρέω, a form of keeping that can mean preserving or keeping in view. Herod’s attention is more than a passing notice: he keeps John within his regard, though nearness to the truth does not free him from fear.
ALSO GROWS
syntēreō: to preserve, keep safe, or keep in view
συντηρέω
This is the compound form behind the verb in the verse, holding together the senses of observing and preserving.
diatēreō: to preserve or maintain
διατηρέω
It shares the τηρέω stem and shows how the same keeping can mean sustained preservation.
epitēreō: to watch closely
ἐπιτηρέω
This related compound brings out the watchful edge of keeping someone in view.
ἤκουεν
ēkouen
GROWS FROM
ἀκούω
akouō
to hear, listen, or attend
“heard” in this verse is ēkouen. Mark says Herod hears John gladly, but hearing and heeding are not identical. The Greek family can extend into obedience, leaving a visible gap between enjoying a voice and fully responding to it.
ALSO GROWS
hypakouō: to heed or obey
ὑπακούω
This compound of ἀκούω shows hearing extended into response, a step the verse does not say Herod completes.
akoē: hearing or a report
ἀκοή
This noun shares the same root and keeps attention on the act of receiving what is said.
δίκαιον
dikaion
GROWS FROM
δικ-
dik-
rightness and justice; alignment with what is right
The verse calls John aligned with what is right, not merely approved by Herod. Herod recognizes that alignment while his own fear remains present.
ALSO GROWS
dikē: justice or what is right
δίκη
This related word names the justice at the center of the family.
dikaiosynē: alignment, justice
δικαιοσύνη
It carries the family’s sense of right relation into a broader quality.
dikaioō: to justify or declare right
δικαιόω
This verb shows the same family applied to recognizing or declaring what is right.
THE PATTERN
Welcoming a truthful word does not by itself dissolve the fear that constrains its hearer.
And look, you are to them as a love song sung by one with a pleasant voice, who strikes the strings well; for they hear and respond to your words, but they do not do them.But those on the good soil are the ones who, in a noble and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit by remaining beneath the weight.And as he talked through alignment, the strength held within, and the judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go your way for the now that holds; when I take hold of an opening, I will call you back.THE THREAD
But Mary kept all these words, casting them together in her heart.Mark’s “observed” and Luke’s “kept” translate the same Greek verb, συνετήρει (synetērei), from συντηρέω (syntēreō), “to keep or preserve.” Mary keeps the words inwardly and ponders them; Herod keeps John in his attention, showing two different ways of holding close what is heard.
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