Matthew 14
New King James Version
John the Baptist Beheaded(A)
14 At that time (B)Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” 3 (C)For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 Because John had said to him, (D)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, (E)because they counted him as a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”
9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
Feeding the Five Thousand(F)
13 (G)When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He (H)was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 (I)When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”
16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, (J)He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Sea(K)
22 Immediately Jesus [a]made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 (L)And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. (M)Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now [b]in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him (N)walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, [c]“Be of good (O)cheer! [d]It is I; do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw [e]that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of (P)little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 Then those who were in the boat [f]came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly (Q)You are the Son of God.”
Many Touch Him and Are Made Well(R)
34 (S)When they had crossed over, they came [g]to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only (T)touch the hem of His garment. And (U)as many as touched it were made perfectly well.
Footnotes
- Matthew 14:22 invited, strongly urged
- Matthew 14:24 NU many furlongs away from the land
- Matthew 14:27 Take courage
- Matthew 14:27 Lit. I am
- Matthew 14:30 NU brackets that and boisterous as disputed.
- Matthew 14:33 NU omits came and
- Matthew 14:34 NU to land at
Matthew 14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 At that time(A) Herod the tetrarch(B) heard the report about Jesus. 2 “This is John the Baptist!” he told his servants. “He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why supernatural powers are at work in him.”(C)
3 For Herod had arrested John, chained[a] him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,(D) 4 since John had been telling him, “It’s not lawful(E) for you to have her!” 5 Though he wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, since they regarded him as a prophet.(F)
6 But when Herod’s birthday celebration came, Herodias’s daughter danced before them[b] and pleased Herod. 7 So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 And prompted by her mother, she answered, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter!” 9 Although the king regretted it, he commanded that it be granted because of his oaths and his guests. 10 So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 Then his disciples came, removed the corpse,[c] buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.
Feeding 5,000
13 When Jesus heard about it,(G) He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns. 14 As He stepped ashore,[d] He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.(H)
15 When evening came, the disciples(I) approached Him and said, “This place is a wilderness, and it is already late.[e] Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 “They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.”
17 “But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to Him.
18 “Bring them here to Me,” He said. 19 Then He commanded the crowds to sit down[f] on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.(J) 20 Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces!(K) 21 Now those who ate were about 5,000 men, besides women and children.
Walking on the Water
22 Immediately(L) He[g] made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. 23 After dismissing the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone.(M) 24 But the boat was already over a mile[h] from land,[i] battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. 25 Around three in the morning,[j] He came toward them walking on the sea.(N) 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”(O)
28 “Lord, if it’s You,” Peter answered Him, “command me to come to You on the water.”
29 “Come!” He said.
And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strength of the wind,[k] he was afraid. And beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”(P) 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those in the boat worshiped Him and said, “Truly You are the Son of God!”(Q)
Miraculous Healings
34 Once they crossed over,(R) they came to land at Gennesaret.(S) 35 When the men of that place recognized Him, they alerted[l] the whole vicinity and brought to Him all who were sick. 36 They were begging Him that they might only touch the tassel on His robe. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.(T)
Footnotes
- Matthew 14:3 Or bound
- Matthew 14:6 Lit danced in the middle
- Matthew 14:12 Other mss read body
- Matthew 14:14 Lit Coming out (of the boat)
- Matthew 14:15 Lit and the time (for the evening meal) has already passed
- Matthew 14:19 Lit to recline
- Matthew 14:22 Other mss read Jesus
- Matthew 14:24 Lit already many stadia; 1 stadion = 600 feet
- Matthew 14:24 Other mss read already in the middle of the sea
- Matthew 14:25 Lit fourth watch of the night = 3 to 6 a.m.
- Matthew 14:30 Other mss read saw the wind
- Matthew 14:35 Lit sent into
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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