¹⁹ So Herodias held a grudge against him and was wanting to kill him, and was not able to do so. ²⁰ For Herod was afraid of John, because he^[a] knew him to be a righteous and holy man and protected him. And when he^[b] listened to him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he listened to him gladly. ²¹ And a suitable day came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers and military tribunes and the most prominent men of Galilee.