For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Noble fidelity! It was not lawful, because Herod's wife and Herodias' husband were both living; and further, because the parties were within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity (see Leviticus 20:21); Herodias being the daughter of Aristobulus, the brother of both Herod and Philip (Josephus 18: 5, 4).