^14:1At that time Herod the tetrarch¹ heard reports about Jesus, ^14:2and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” ^14:3For Herod had arrested John, bound him,² and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, ^14:4because John had repeatedly told³ him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”⁴^14:5Although⁵ Herod⁶ wanted to kill John,⁷ he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. ^14:6But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, ^14:7so much that he promised with an oath⁸ to give her whatever she asked. ^14:8Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ^14:9Although it grieved the king,⁹ because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. ^14:10So¹⁰ he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ^14:11His¹¹ head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ^14:12Then John’s¹² disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

^14:13Now 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.¹⁴^14:14As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ^14:15When 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.” ^14:16But he¹⁶ replied, “They don’t need to go. You¹⁷ give them something to eat.” ^14:17They¹⁸ said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” ^14:18“Bring them here to me,” he replied. ^14:19Then¹⁹ 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.²¹^14:20They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full. ^14:21Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate.

Walking on Water

^14:22Immediately Jesus²² made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds. ^14:23And after he sent the crowds away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. ^14:24Meanwhile the boat, already far from land,²³ was taking a beating from the waves because the wind was against it. ^14:25As the night was ending,²⁴ Jesus came to them walking on the sea.²⁵^14:26When²⁶ the disciples saw him walking on the water²⁷ they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out with fear. ^14:27But immediately Jesus²⁸ spoke to them:²⁹ “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” ^14:28Peter³⁰ said to him,³¹ “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.” ^14:29So he said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. ^14:30But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out,³² “Lord, save me!” ^14:31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ^14:32When they went up into the boat, the wind ceased. ^14:33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

^14:34After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.³³^14:35When the people³⁴ there recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding area, and they brought all their sick to him. ^14:36They begged him if³⁵ they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

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Footnotes

1 A tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14–29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.
2 Most witnesses (א2 C D L W Z Θ 0106 f1, 13 33 𝔐 lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various important witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 ff1 h q). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.
3 The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.
4 This marriage of Herod to his brother Philip’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.
5 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
6 Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 Grk “him” (also in the following phrase, Grk “accepted him”); in both cases the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (homologeō); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” ( 1) lists “assure, promise with an oath” for certain contexts such as here.
9 Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.” Herod was technically not a king, but this reflects popular usage. See the note on tetrarch in .
10 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
11 Grk “And his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
13 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 Or “cities.”
15 Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).
16 The majority of witnesses read Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous, “Jesus”) here, perhaps to clarify the subject. Although only a few Greek , along with several versional witnesses (א* D Zvid 579 1424 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. has the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
17 Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (humeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.
18 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
19 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
20 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 Grk “to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.”
22 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 Grk “The boat was already many stades from the land.” A stade (στάδιον, stadion) was a unit of distance about 607 feet (187 meters) long.
24 Grk “In the fourth watch of the night,” that is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
25 Or “on the lake.”
26 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
27 Grk “on the sea”; or “on the lake.” The translation “water” has been used here for stylistic reasons (cf. the same phrase in v. 25).
28 Most witnesses have ὁ Ἰησοῦς (ho Iēsous, “Jesus”), while a few lack the words (א* D 073 892 ff1 syc sa bo). Although such additions are often suspect (due to liturgical influences, piety, or for the sake of clarity), in this case it is likely that ὁ Ἰησοῦς dropped out accidentally. Apart from a few albeit important witnesses, as noted above, the rest of the tradition has either ὁ Ἰησοῦς αὐτοῖς (ho Iēsous autois) or αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς (autois ho Iēsous). In uncial letters, with Jesus’ name as a nomen sacrum, this would have been written as ΑΥΤΟΙΣΟΙΣ or ΟΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ. Thus homoioteleuton could explain the reason for the omission of Jesus’ name.
29 Grk “he said to them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
30 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
31 Grk “answering him, Peter said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokritheis) is redundant and has not been translated.
32 Grk “he cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
33 Gennesaret was a fertile plain south of Capernaum (see also Mark 6:53). The Sea of Galilee was also sometimes known as the Sea of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).
34 Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anēr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. 1.a, 2).
35 Grk “asked that they might touch.”