Chapter 8

Four Thousand Fed

1 In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, aJesus called His disciples and * said to them,

2 “aI feel compassion for the 1people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.

3 “If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.”

4 And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough 1bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”

5 And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”

6 And He * directed the 1people to 2sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to 3serve to them, and they served them to the 1people.

7 They also had a few small fish; and aafter He had blessed them, He ordered these to be 1served as well.

8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large abaskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.

9 About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.

10 And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of aDalmanutha.

11 aThe Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, bseeking from Him a 1sign from heaven, 2to test Him.

12 aSighing deeply 1in His spirit, He * said, “Why does this generation seek for a 2sign? Truly I say to you, 3bno 2sign will be given to this generation.”

13 Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.

14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.

15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “aWatch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of bHerod.”

16 They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.

17 And Jesus, aware of this, * said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? aDo you not yet see or understand? Do you have a 1hardened heart?

18 “aHaving eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember,

19 when I broke athe five loaves for the five thousand, how many bbaskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They * said to Him, “Twelve.”

20 “When I broke athe seven for the four thousand, how many large bbaskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they * said to Him, “Seven.”

21 And He was saying to them, “aDo you not yet understand?”

22 And they * came to aBethsaida. And they * brought a blind man to Jesus and * implored Him to btouch him.

23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He abrought him out of the village; and after aspitting on his eyes and blaying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”

24 And he 1looked up and said, “I see men, for 2I see them like trees, walking around.”

25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter athe village.”

Peter’s Confession of Christ

27 aJesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of bCaesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?”

28 aThey told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”

29 And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” aPeter * answered and * said to Him, “You are 1the Christ.”

30 And aHe 1warned them to tell no one about Him.

31 aAnd He began to teach them that bthe Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

32 And He was stating the matter aplainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.

33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and * said, “Get behind Me, aSatan; for you are not setting your mind on 1God’s interests, but man’s.”

34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and atake up his cross and follow Me.

35 “For awhoever wishes to save his 1life will lose it, but whoever loses his 1life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

38 “For awhoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, bthe Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He ccomes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”