3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).
4 John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.”
5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.
6 But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him,
7 so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted.
8 At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”
9 Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.