8. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a walking stick—no bread, no bags, and no money in their belts.
9. He told them to wear sandals but not to put on two shirts.
10. He said, "Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place.
11. If a place doesn’t welcome you or listen to you, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them."
12. So they went out and proclaimed that people should change their hearts and lives.
13. They cast out many demons, and they anointed many sick people with olive oil and healed them.
14. Herod the king heard about these things, because the name of Jesus had become well-known. Some were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and this is why miraculous powers are at work through him."
15. Others were saying, "He is Elijah." Still others were saying, "He is a prophet like one of the ancient prophets."
16. But when Herod heard these rumors, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised to life."
17. He said this because Herod himself had arranged to have John arrested and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. Herod had married her,
18. but John told Herod, "It’s against the law for you to marry your brother’s wife!"
19. So Herodias had it in for John. She wanted to kill him, but she couldn’t.
20. This was because Herod respected John. He regarded him as a righteous and holy person, so he protected him. John’s words greatly confused Herod, yet he enjoyed listening to him.
21. Finally, the time was right. It was on one of Herod’s birthdays, when he had prepared a feast for his high-ranking officials and military officers and Galilee’s leading residents.
22. Herod’s daughter Herodias came in and danced, thrilling Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the young woman, "Ask me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you."
23. Then he swore to her, "Whatever you ask I will give to you, even as much as half of my kingdom."
24. She left the banquet hall and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" "John the Baptist’s head," Herodias replied.
25. Hurrying back to the ruler, she made her request: "I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head on a plate, right this minute."