Matthew 14:1–12

John the Baptist Beheaded

14:1–12pp—Mk 6:14–29

14At that time Herod^w the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,^{x 2}and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist;^y he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison^z because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,^{a 4}for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”^{b 5}Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.^c

⁶On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much ⁷that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted ¹⁰and had John beheaded^d in the prison. ¹¹His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. ¹²John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it.^e Then they went and told Jesus.