Matthew 14:8–22

14:8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 14:9 Although it grieved the king,9 because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 14:10 So10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 14:11 His11 head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 14:12 Then John’s12 disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

14:13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it,13 they followed him on foot from the towns.14 14:14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 14:15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place15 and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 14:16 But he16 replied, “They don’t need to go. You17 give them something to eat.” 14:17 They18 said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 14:18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied. 14:19 Then19 he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples,20 who in turn gave them to the crowds.21 14:20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full. 14:21 Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate.

Walking on Water

14:22 Immediately Jesus22 made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds.

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9	tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.” sn Herod was technically not a king, but this reflects popular usage. See the note on tetrarch in 14:1.
10	tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
11	tn Grk “And his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12	tn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
13	tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
14	tn Or “cities.”
15	tn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).
16	tc ‡ The majority of witnesses read Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous, “Jesus”) here, perhaps to clarify the subject. Although only a few Greek mss, along with several versional witnesses (א* D Zvid 579 1424 pc e k sys,c,p sa bo), lack the name of Jesus, the omission does not seem to be either accidental or malicious and is therefore judged to be most likely the original reading. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult. NA 27 has the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
17	tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (humeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.
18	tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
19	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
20	tn Grk “And after instructing the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass, after taking the five loaves and the two fish, after looking up to heaven, he gave thanks, and after breaking the loaves he gave them to the disciples.” Although most of the participles are undoubtedly attendant circumstance, there are but two indicative verbs—“he gave thanks” and “he gave.” The structure of the sentence thus seems to focus on these two actions and has been translated accordingly.
21	tn Grk “to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.”
22	tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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