Herod, tetrarch of Galilee,
John's teaching oft did seek,
Thought him a just and holy man,
And gladly heard him speak.
Yet Herod had a wicked heart,
And crime had stained his name,
For he lived with his brother's wife,
And none had dared to blame.
But John, with holy courage, had
Condemned his sinful life,
And said, "It is not right for thee
To have thy brother's wife."
Therefore, the woman hated him--
Herodias was her name--
And would have killed him if she could,
With neither fear nor shame.
But Herod she persuaded,
To seize the preacher bold,
And in a dungeon's gloomy cell
His prisoner to hold.
Now, when the news of this event
To Jesus had been brought,
While in the land of Judah,
Where He baptized and taught,
And He well knew that word unto
The Pharisees had gone.
How, in His mission here and there,
He plainly favored John.
He left Judea's flowery land,
And turned His face again
To Galilee, His early home,
In Herod's proud domain.
Yet neither horse nor chariot had
This royal Son of God;
But traveled humbly and a foot
The hot and dusty road.
