^9:1After¹ Jesus² called³ the twelve⁴ together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure⁵ diseases, ^9:2and he sent⁶ them out to proclaim⁷ the kingdom of God⁸ and to heal the sick.⁹^9:3He¹⁰ said to them, “Take nothing for your¹¹ journey—no staff,¹² no bag,¹³ no bread, no money, and do not take an extra tunic.¹⁴^9:4Whatever¹⁵ house you enter, stay there¹⁶ until you leave the area.¹⁷^9:5Wherever¹⁸ they do not receive you,¹⁹ as you leave that town,²⁰ shake the dust off²¹ your feet as a testimony against them.” ^9:6Then²² they departed and went throughout²³ the villages, proclaiming the good news²⁴ and healing people everywhere.

Herod’s Confusion about Jesus

^9:7Now Herod²⁵ the tetrarch²⁶ heard about everything that was happening, and he was thoroughly perplexed,²⁷ because some people were saying that John²⁸ had been raised from the dead, ^9:8while others were saying that Elijah²⁹ had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had risen.³⁰^9:9Herod said, “I had John³¹ beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus.³²

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

^9:10When³³ the apostles returned,³⁴ they told Jesus³⁵ everything they had done. Then³⁶ he took them with him and they withdrew privately to a town³⁷ called Bethsaida.³⁸

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Footnotes

1 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 An aorist participle preceding an aorist main verb may indicate either contemporaneous (simultaneous) action (“When he called … he gave”) or antecedent (prior) action (“After he called … he gave”). The participle συγκαλεσάμενος (sunkalesamenos) has been translated here as indicating antecedent action.
4 Some add ἀποστόλους (apostolous, “apostles”; א C* L Θ Ψ 070 0291 f13 33 579 892 1241 1424 2542 lat) or μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ (mathētas autou, “his disciples”; C3 al it) here, but such clarifying notes are clearly secondary.
5 Note how Luke distinguishes between exorcisms (authority over all demons) and diseases here.
6 “To send out” is often a term of divine commission in Luke: 1:19; 4:18, 43; 7:27; 9:48; 10:1, 16; 11:49; 13:34; 24:49.
7 Or “to preach.”
8 The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20–21.
9 As Jesus’ own ministry (Luke 4:16–44) involved both word (to proclaim) and deed (to heal) so also would that of the disciples.
10 Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
11 Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun ( ).
12 Mark 6:8 allows one staff. It might be that Luke’s summary (cf. Matt 10:9–10) means not taking an extra staff or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.
13 Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; πήρα).
14 Grk “have two tunics.” See the note on the word “tunics” in .
15 Grk “And whatever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
16 Jesus telling his disciples to stay there in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging.
17 Grk “and depart from there.” The literal wording could be easily misunderstood; the meaning is that the disciples were not to move from house to house in the same town or locality, but remain at the same house as long as they were in that place.
18 Grk “And wherever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
19 Grk “all those who do not receive you.”
20 Or “city.”
21 To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.
22 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
23 This is a distributive use of κατά (kata); see L&N 83:12 where this verse is cited as an example of the usage.
24 Or “preaching the gospel.” This verse is similar to Luke 9:2, except for good news at this point. The change means that to “preach the kingdom” is to “preach the good news.” The ideas are interchangeable as summaries for the disciples’ message. They are combined in Luke 8:1.
25 Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in .
26 See the note on tetrarch in .
27 Or “was very confused.” See L&N 32.10 where this verse is given as an example of the usage.
28 John refers to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded (v. 9).
29 The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.
30 The phrase had risen could be understood to mean “had been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. The three options of vv. 7–8 will be repeated in v. 19.
31 Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.
32 The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezētei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (), . Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6–12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.
33 Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
34 The participle ὑποστρέψαντες (hupostrepsantes) has been taken temporally.
35 Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
36 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
37 There is a seeming myriad of variants for this text. Many read εἰς τόπον ἔρημον (eis topon erēmon, “to a deserted place”; א*,2 [1241]) or εἰς τόπον ἔρημον πόλεως καλουμένης Βηθσαϊδά (eis topon erēmon poleōs kaloumenēs BēthsaiHda, “to a deserted place of a town called Bethsaida”; [A] C W Ξmg [f1, 13] [565] 𝔐) here, while others have εἰς κώμην λεγομένην Βηδσαϊδά (eis kōmēn legomenēn BēdsaiHda, “to a village called Bedsaida”; D), εἰς κώμην καλουμένην Βηθσαϊδά εἰς τόπον ἔρημον (eis kōmēn kaloumenēn BēthsaiHda eis topon erēmon, “to a village called Bethsaida to a deserted place”; Θ), or εἰς τόπον καλουμένον Βηθσαϊδά (eis topon kaloumenon Bēthsaida, “to a place called Bethsaida”; Ψ). The Greek behind the translation (εἰς πόλιν καλουμένην Βηθσαϊδά, eis polin kaloumenēn BēthsaiHda) is supported by (𝔓75) א1 B L Ξ* 33 2542 co. The variants can be grouped generally into those that speak of a “deserted place” and those that speak of a place/city/town called Bethsaida. The Byzantine reading is evidently a conflation of the earlier texts, and should be dismissed as secondary. The variants that speak of a deserted place are an assimilation to Mark 6:32, as well a harmonization with v. 12, and should also be regarded as secondary. The reading that best explains the rise of the others—both internally and externally—is the one that stands behind the translation and is found in the text of . Or “city.”
38 Bethsaida was a town on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Probably this should be understood to mean a place in the vicinity of the town. It represents an attempt to reconcile the location with the place of the miraculous feeding that follows.