Matthew 14:13–33

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!”