Matthew 14

Herod Kills John the Baptist

14At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus ²and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist! He has been raised from the dead, and for this reason miraculous powers are at work in him.” ³For Herod, after^* arresting John, bound him and put him^* in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, ⁴because John had been saying to him, “It is not permitted for you to have her.” ⁵And although he^* wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, because they looked upon him as a prophet.

⁶But when^* Herod’s birthday celebration took place, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst of them and pleased Herod. ⁷Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸And coached by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter!” ⁹And although^* the king was distressed, because of his oaths and his dinner guests^a he commanded the request^* to be granted. ¹⁰And he sent orders^* and^* had John beheaded in the prison, ¹¹and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it^* to her mother. ¹²And his disciples came and^* took away the corpse and buried it, and went and^* told Jesus.

The Feeding of Five Thousand

¹³Now when^* Jesus heard it,^* he withdrew from there in a boat to an isolated place by himself. And when^* the crowds heard it,^* they followed him by land from the towns. ¹⁴And as he^* got out, he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵Now when it^* was evening, the disciples came to him saying, “The place is desolate and the hour is late.^b Release the crowds so that they can go away into the villages and^* purchase food for themselves.” ¹⁶But Jesus said to them, “They do not need^c to go away. You give them something^* to eat.” ¹⁷And they said to him, “We do not have anything^* here except five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸So he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹And he commanded the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and^* looking up to heaven, he gave thanks. And after^* breaking them,^* he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them^* to the crowds. ²⁰And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹Now those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

²²And immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent away the crowds. ²³And after he^* sent away the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. So when^* evening came, he was there alone. ²⁴But the boat was already many stadia distant from the land, being beaten by the waves, because the wind was against it. ²⁵And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶But the disciples, when they^* saw him walking on the sea, were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Have courage, I am he! Do not be afraid!” ²⁸And Peter answered him and^* said, “Lord, if it is you,^d command me to come to you on the water!” ²⁹So he said, “Come!” And getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he^* saw the strong wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” ³¹And immediately Jesus extended his^e hand and^* caught him and said to him, “You of little faith! Why did you doubt?” ³²And when^* they got into the boat, the wind abated. ³³So those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God!”

Many Healed at Gennesaret

³⁴And after they^* had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. ³⁵And when^* the men of that place recognized him, they sent word into that whole surrounding region, and they brought to him all those who were sick.^{f 36}And they were imploring him that they might only touch the edge^g of his cloak, and all those who touched it^* were cured.