Book of Common Prayer
A huge row
36 After some days, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in all the various cities where we preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”
37 Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them. 38 But Paul reckoned that it was not a good idea to take with them someone who had left them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the rest of the work. 39 There was a huge row, which resulted in them splitting up. Barnabas took Mark and sailed off for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and went off, having been commended by the church to the grace of the Lord. 41 They went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy—and new developments
16 Paul went on further, to Derbe and then Lystra. There was a disciple there by the name of Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but with a Greek father. 2 The Christians in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with them, so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews in those regions, since they all knew that his father was Greek. 4 When they went through the cities, they handed on to them the decisions which had been taken by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, so that they could observe them. 5 The churches were strengthened in faith, and grew in number every day.
The speculations of Herod
14 Jesus’ name became well known, and reached the ears of King Herod.
“It’s John the Baptist,” he said, “risen from the dead! That’s why these powers are at work in him.”
15 Other people said, “It’s Elijah!”
Others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the old prophets.”
16 “No,” said Herod when he heard this. “It’s John. I cut off his head, and he’s been raised.”
Herod and John the Baptist
17 What had happened was this. Herod had married Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 18 John regularly told Herod it wasn’t right for him to take his brother’s wife; so Herod gave the word, arrested him and tied him up in prison. 19 Herodias kept up a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, but couldn’t; 20 Herod knew that John was a just and holy man, and he was afraid of him. So he protected him, and used to listen to him regularly. What he heard disturbed him greatly, and yet he enjoyed listening to him.
21 And then, one day, the moment came. There was a great party. It was Herod’s birthday, and he gave a feast for his leading retainers, militia officers, and the great and good of Galilee. 22 Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, and Herod and his guests were delighted.
“Tell me what you’d like,” said the king to the girl, “and I’ll give it you!”
23 He swore to her, over and over again, “Whatever you ask me, I’ll give it you—right up to half my kingdom!”
24 She went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she replied.
25 So she went back at once to the king, all eager, and made her request: “I want you to give me, right now, on a dish—the head of John the Baptist!”
26 The king was distraught. But his oaths on the one hand, and his guests on the other, meant he hadn’t the guts to refuse her. 27 So he sent a jailer straight away with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 brought the head on a dish, and gave it to the girl. The girl gave it to her mother.
29 When John’s followers heard about it, they came and took his body, and buried it in a tomb.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.