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 - 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, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a spector, and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers, in the person of Jesus.