A king had just put an enormous offer in her hands, and she did not decide alone. She went out and asked her mother. Gill says she withdrew from the hall to consult Herodias, who was not at the feast, since in those eastern countries women did not usually sit at table at a grand festival. Matthew says she was "before instructed of her mother" (Matthew 14:8), and Barnes explains that this instruction came not before she danced, but afterward, before she made her request. Her question opened the door Herodias had been waiting for. Herodias "had a quarrel against" John and "would have killed him; but she could not" (Mark 6:19).

Herodias answered: "The head of John the Baptist." Her daughter "came in straightway with haste unto the king" and asked for John's head "in a charger" (Mark 6:25). The king "was exceeding sorry," yet "for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her" (Mark 6:26). An executioner beheaded John in the prison and brought his head in a charger to the damsel, "and the damsel gave it to her mother" (Mark 6:27-28).

Herod had married Herodias, "his brother Philip's wife," and John had told him plainly, "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife" (Mark 6:17-18). That rebuke is why Herodias held a grudge against John.

Barnes notes that kings commonly kept their birthday with great show and a feast for their chief nobles. He calls Herod's promise "a foolish and wicked oath" and says Herod "felt that he was bound by this oath. But he was not." The "charger" the daughter asked for was, in Barnes' words, "a large platter, on which food is placed."

Mark tells this story as a flashback. When Herod heard of Jesus' mighty works, his conscience spoke first: "It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead" (Mark 6:14-16). Herod had once feared John, "knowing that he was a just man and an holy," and he "heard him gladly" (Mark 6:20). Yet at this supper he let an oath and the opinion of his guests outweigh what he knew was right.

The girl's question shows how much depends on whose counsel we seek. Gill says her mother answered "without taking any further time to think of it, being prepared for it," and adds, "So sweet is revenge." John paid with his life for telling the truth. Matthew Henry reflects that "it is better that sinners persecute ministers now for faithfulness, than curse them eternally for unfaithfulness." John's disciples buried his body (Mark 6:29), and Matthew adds that they "went and told Jesus" (Matthew 14:12).