Matthew 14
New American Standard Bible
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 [a](A)At that time [b](B)Herod [c]the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, “(C)This is John the Baptist; he himself has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 For when (D)Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him (E)in prison because of (F)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 For John had been saying to him, “(G)It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded [d]John as (H)a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of (I)Herodias danced [e]before them and pleased (J)Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 And after being prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths and [f]his dinner guests. 10 He sent word and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 [g]John’s disciples came and took away the body and buried [h]it; and they went and reported to Jesus.
Five Thousand Men Fed
13 (K)Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the [i]people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He came [j]ashore, He (L)saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and (M)healed their sick.
15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is secluded and the hour is already past to eat; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go; you give them something to eat!” 17 They *said to Him, “We have nothing here except (N)five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 And ordering the crowds to [k]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looked up toward heaven. He (O)blessed the food and breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces: twelve full (P)baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 (Q)Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, (R)He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already [l]a long distance from the land, [m]battered by the waves; for the wind was [n](S)contrary. 25 And in (T)the [o]fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is (U)a ghost!” And they cried out [p]in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “(V)Take courage, [q]it is I; (W)do not be afraid.”
28 Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if [r]it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “(X)You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly (Y)God’s Son!”
34 (Z)When they had crossed over, they came to land at (AA)Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place [s]recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding region and brought to Him all who were sick; 36 and they pleaded with Him that they might just touch (AB)the [t]border of His cloak; and all who (AC)touched it were cured.
Footnotes
- Matthew 14:1 Or On that occasion
- Matthew 14:1 I.e., Herod Antipas
- Matthew 14:1 I.e., a regional ruler
- Matthew 14:5 Lit him
- Matthew 14:6 Lit in the midst
- Matthew 14:9 Lit those who reclined at the table with him
- Matthew 14:12 Lit his
- Matthew 14:12 Lit him
- Matthew 14:13 Lit the crowds
- Matthew 14:14 Lit out
- Matthew 14:19 Lit recline
- Matthew 14:24 Lit many stadia from; a Roman stadion perhaps averaged 607 ft. or 185 m
- Matthew 14:24 Lit tormented
- Matthew 14:24 Or adverse
- Matthew 14:25 I.e., 3-6 a.m.
- Matthew 14:26 Lit from
- Matthew 14:27 Lit I am
- Matthew 14:28 Lit You are
- Matthew 14:35 Or found out about
- Matthew 14:36 Or tassel; i.e., a ritual tassel sewn to corners of garments for Jewish men
Matthew 14
The Message
The Death of John
14 1-2 At about this time, Herod, the regional ruler, heard what was being said about Jesus. He said to his servants, “This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead. That’s why he’s able to work miracles!”
3-5 Herod had arrested John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison to placate Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias “adultery.” Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid because so many people revered John as a prophet of God.
6-12 But at his birthday celebration, he got his chance. Herodias’s daughter provided the entertainment, dancing for the guests. She swept Herod away. In his drunken enthusiasm, he promised her on oath anything she wanted. Already coached by her mother, she was ready: “Give me, served up on a platter, the head of John the Baptizer.” That sobered the king up fast. Unwilling to lose face with his guests, he did it—ordered John’s head cut off and presented to the girl on a platter. She in turn gave it to her mother. Later, John’s disciples got the body, gave it a reverent burial, and reported to Jesus.
Supper for Five Thousand
13-14 When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.
15 Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”
16 But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”
17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.
18-21 Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
Walking on the Water
22-23 As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.
24-26 Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared to death. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.
27 But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
28 Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”
29-30 He said, “Come ahead.”
Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”
31 Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”
32-33 The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
34-36 On return, they beached the boat at Gennesaret. When the people got wind that he was back, they sent out word through the neighborhood and rounded up all the sick, who asked for permission to touch the edge of his coat. And whoever touched him was healed.
Matthew 14
GOD’S WORD Translation
Recalling John’s Death(A)
14 At that time Herod, ruler of Galilee, heard the news about Jesus. 2 He said to his officials, “This is John the Baptizer! He has come back to life. That’s why he has the power to perform these miracles.”
3 Herod had arrested John, tied him up, and put him in prison. Herod did this for Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 John had been telling Herod, “It’s not right for you to be married to her.” 5 So Herod wanted to kill John. However, he was afraid of the people because they thought John was a prophet.
6 When Herod celebrated his birthday, Herodias’ daughter danced for his guests. Herod was so delighted with her that 7 he swore he would give her anything she wanted.
8 Urged by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptizer on a platter.”
9 The king regretted his promise. But because of his oath and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted. 10 He had John’s head cut off in prison. 11 So the head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.
12 John’s disciples came for the body and buried it. Then they went to tell Jesus.
Jesus Feeds More Than Five Thousand(B)
13 When Jesus heard about John, he left in a boat and went to a place where he could be alone. The crowds heard about this and followed him on foot from the cities. 14 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. He felt sorry for them and cured their sick people.
15 In the evening the disciples came to him. They said, “No one lives around here, and it’s already late. Send the crowds to the villages to buy food for themselves.”
16 Jesus said to them, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 They told him, “All we have here are five loaves of bread and two fish.”
18 Jesus said, “Bring them to me.”
19 Then he ordered the people to sit down on the grass. After he took the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart, gave them to the disciples, and they gave them to the people. 20 All of them ate as much as they wanted. When they picked up the leftover pieces, they filled twelve baskets.
21 About five thousand men had eaten. (This number does not include the women and children who had eaten.)
Jesus Walks on the Sea(C)
22 Jesus quickly made his disciples get into a boat and cross to the other side ahead of him while he sent the people away. 23 After sending the people away, he went up a mountain to pray by himself. When evening came, he was there alone.
24 The boat, now hundreds of yards from shore, was being thrown around by the waves because it was going against the wind.
25 Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and began to scream because they were afraid.
27 Immediately, Jesus said, “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”
28 Peter answered, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.”
29 Jesus said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed how strong the wind was, he became afraid and started to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately, Jesus reached out, caught hold of him, and said, “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?”
32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing. 33 The men in the boat bowed down in front of Jesus and said, “You are truly the Son of God.”
34 They crossed the sea and landed at Gennesaret. 35 The men there recognized Jesus and sent messengers all around the countryside. The people brought him everyone who was sick. 36 They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched his clothes was made well.
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