It was Herod himself who’d given the orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison because of Herodias, the woman who had been the wife of his brother Philip, but who was now married to him.
“Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man marries but dies without having children, his brother has to marry the widow so she can have children to carry on her late husband’s name.
But John criticized Herod, the ruler of Galilee, because he had married Herodias, who had been his own brother’s wife. John also spoke strongly to Herod about many other wrong things that he’d done.
Earlier, Herod had arrested John and tied him up and put him in prison. This was because John had been telling Herod, “It’s against the Law of Moses for you to have Herodias as your wife,” since she’d been the wife of Herod’s brother Philip.
King Herod heard about this because Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “He’s John the Baptist, raised from the dead! That’s why he has the power to do miracles.”
In the fifteenth year that Tiberius Caesar ruled—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was the ruler of Galilee, his brother Philip was the ruler of Iturea and Traconitis, Lysanias was ruler of Abilene—
Another was Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household. A woman named Susanna and many others were also there. These women were using their own money to support Jesus and the 12 disciples.
In fact, Herod and Pontius Pilate met with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city. Together they conspired against your holy servant Jesus, your chosen one.