Charles Ellicott Commentary Mark 6:21

"And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee;" — Mark 6:21 (ASV)

And when a convenient day was come.—See Notes on Matthew 14:6-12.

His lords, high captains, and chief estates.—Saint Mark alone gives the account of the guests. The three words mean respectively:

1. The magnates, or officials of the court;
2. The chiliarchs, or chief captains (literally, captain of a thousand—the same word as in Acts 21:31; Acts 26:26) in the Roman legion;
3. The chief men (the word "estates" is too formal for modern ears), probably the large landowners of the province.