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Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying, 1 “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do such miracles.”
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Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.”
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When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.”
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For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her.
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John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.”
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So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless,
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for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.
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Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee.
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Then his daughter, also named Herodias, 2 came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.”
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He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”
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She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!”
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So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!”
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Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her.
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So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison,
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brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother.
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When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb.