^6:21But³² a suitable day³³ came, when Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his court officials, military commanders, and leaders of Galilee. ^6:22When his daughter Herodias³⁴ came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” ^6:23He swore to her,³⁵ “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”³⁶^6:24So³⁷ she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother³⁸ said, “The head of John the baptizer.”³⁹^6:25Immediately she hurried back to the king and made her request:⁴⁰ “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.” ^6:26Although it grieved the king deeply,⁴¹ he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests. ^6:27So⁴² the king sent an executioner at once to bring John’s⁴³ head, and he went and beheaded John in prison. ^6:28He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

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Footnotes

32 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
33 Grk “a day of opportunity”; cf. εὔκαιρος, “in our lit. only pert. to time than is considered a favorable occasion for some event or circumstance, well-timed, suitable.”
34 Behind “his daughter Herodias” is a most difficult textual problem. The reading adopted in the translation, τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτοῦ Ἠρῳδιάδος (tēs thugatros aujtou herōdiados), is supported by א B D L Δ 565 ; it is also the most difficult reading internally since it describes Herodias as Herod’s daughter. Other readings are less awkward, but they do not have adequate external support. The reading τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτῆς τῆς Ἠρῳδιάδος (tēs thugatros autēs tēs herōdiados, “the daughter of Herodias herself”) is supported by A C (W) Θ f13 33 𝔐, but this is also grammatically awkward. The easiest reading, τῆς θυγατρὸς τῆς Ἠρῳδιάδος (“the daughter of Herodias”) is supported by f1 , but this reading probably arose from an accidental omission of αὐτῆς in the previous reading. The reading τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτοῦ Ἠρῳδιάδος, despite its historical difficulties, is most likely original due to external attestation and the fact that it most likely gave rise to the other readings as scribes sought to correct it.
35 The witnesses here support several different readings: αὐτῇ πολλά (autē polla, “to her insistently”) is found in D Θ 565 700 it; πολλά is the reading of 𝔓45vid 28; both words are lacking in L ; and א A B C2vid f13 33 2427 𝔐 lat have just αὐτῇ. The best candidates for authenticity, on external grounds, are αὐτῇ πολλά and αὐτῇ. So the issue revolves around whether πολλά is part of the text. On the one hand, πολλά used adverbially is a distinctive Markanism (10 of the 16 NT instances are found in Mark; of the other Gospels, Matthew alone adds a single example [Matt 9:14]). It could be argued that such an unremarkable term would go unnoticed by the scribes, and consequently would not have been inserted in imitation of Mark’s style observed elsewhere. On the other hand, the largest cluster of instances of an adverbial πολλά are in Mark 5–6, with the most recent example coming just three verses earlier (Mark 5:23, 38, 43; 6:20). Scribes may well have imitated the usage so recently and so frequently seen. Further, the best Alexandrian witnesses, as well as good representatives of the Western and Byzantines texts, lack πολλά. On the whole, though a decision is difficult, it is probably best to read the text without πολλά. places the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
36 The expression up to half my kingdom is a proverbial comment meaning “great wealth.”
37 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
38 Grk “She said”; the referent (the girl’s mother) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
39 While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptistēs, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark employs the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (ho baptizōn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (though twice he does use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).
40 Grk “she asked, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant and has not been translated.
41 Grk “and being deeply grieved, the king did not want.”
42 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
43 Grk “his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

An opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee. When Herodias’s own daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.” He promised her with an oath: “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”

“John the Baptist’s head,” she said.

At once she hurried to the king and said, “I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head on a platter immediately.” Although the king was deeply distressed, because of his oaths and the guests he did not want to refuse her. The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother.

NLTNew Living Translation

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. Then his daughter, also named Herodias, 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.” He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”

She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!”

So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!”

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. 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, brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And a suitable day came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers and military tribunes and the most prominent men of Galilee. And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced and pleased Herod and his dinner guests, the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” And he swore to her, “Anything whatever you ask me for I will give you, up to half my kingdom!” And she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the baptizer.” And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.” And although he was deeply grieved, the king, because of his oaths and dinner guests, did not want to refuse her. And immediately the king sent an executioner and ordered him to bring his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison. And he brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

KJV 1900King James Version

And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.

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