Matthew 14

1 At that season Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,2 and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore do these powers work in him.3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod.7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask.8 And she, being put forward by her mother, saith, Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.9 And the king was grieved; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat with him, he commanded it to be given;10 and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.11 And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.12 And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

13 Now when Jesus heard it, he withdrew from thence in a boat, to a desert place apart: and when the multitudes heard thereof, they followed him on foot from the cities.14 And he came forth, and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick.15 And when even was come, the disciples came to him, saying, The place is desert, and the time is already past; send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.16 But Jesus said unto them, They have no need to go away; give ye them to eat.17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.18 And he said, Bring them hither to me.19 And he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.20 And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.21 And they that did eat were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

22 And straightway he constrained the disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him unto the other side, till he should send the multitudes away.23 And after he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain apart to pray: and when even was come, he was there alone.24 But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, distressed by the waves; for the wind was contrary.25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them, walking upon the sea.26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost; and they cried out for fear.27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the waters.29 And he said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus.30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me.31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him, and saith unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?32 And when they were gone up into the boat, the wind ceased.33 And they that were in the boat worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

34 And when they had crossed over, they came to the land, unto Gennesaret.35 And when the men of that place knew him, they sent into all that region round about, and brought unto him all that were sick,36 and they besought him that they might only touch the border of his garment: and as many as touched were made whole.

Matthew 14

The Death of John the Baptist

(Mk 6.14–29; Lk 9.7–9)

1 At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus.

2 “He is really John the Baptist, who has come back to life,” he told his officials. “That is why he has this power to perform miracles.”
3 For Herod had earlier ordered John's arrest, and he had him chained and put in prison. He had done this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.t 4 For some time John the Baptist had told Herod, “It isn't right for you to be married to Herodias!”t

5 Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the Jewish people, because they considered John to be a prophet.
6 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced in front of the whole group. Herod was so pleased

7 that he promised her, “I swear that I will give you anything you ask for!”

8 At her mother's suggestion she asked him, “Give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a dish!”
9 The king was sad, but because of the promise he had made in front of all his guests he gave orders that her wish be granted. 10 So he had John beheaded in prison. 11 The head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.

12 John's disciples came, carried away his body, and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds a Great Crowd

(Mk 6.30–44; Lk 9.10–17; Jn 6.1–14)

14 Jesus got out of the boat, and when he saw the large crowd, his heart was filled with pity for them, and he healed those who were ill.

15 That evening his disciples came to him and said, “It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. Send the people away and let them go to the villages to buy food for themselves.”

16  “They don't have to leave,” answered Jesus. “You yourselves give them something to eat!”

17 “All we have here are five loaves and two fish,” they replied.
18  “Then bring them here to me,” Jesus said. 19 He ordered the people to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 Everyone ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left over.

21 The number of men who ate was about 5,000, not counting the women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

(Mk 6.45–52; Jn 6.15–21)

24 and by this time the boat was far out in the lake, tossed about by the waves, because the wind was blowing against it.
25 Between three and six o'clock in the morning Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water.

26 When they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. “It's a ghost!” they said, and screamed with fear.

27 Jesus spoke to them at once. “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!”

28 Then Peter spoke up. “Lord, if it is really you, order me to come out on the water to you.”
29 “Come!” answered Jesus. So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus.

30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. “Save me, Lord!” he cried.

31 At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and said, “How little faith you have! Why did you doubt?”
32 They both got into the boat, and the wind died down.

33 Then the disciples in the boat worshipped Jesus. “Truly you are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

(Mk 6.53–56)