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
New Testament for Everyone
The death of John the Baptist
14 At that time Herod the Tetrarch heard reports about Jesus.
2 “This fellow must be John the Baptist,” he said to his servants. “He’s been raised from the dead! That’s why these powers are at work in him.”
3 This is what had happened. Herod had seized John, tied him up and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 John had been telling him that it wasn’t right for him to have her. 5 Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the crowd, because they reckoned that John was a prophet.
6 When Herod’s birthday came around, the daughter of Herodias danced for the assembled company, and delighted Herod. 7 So he swore a great oath that he would give her whatever she requested. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me—here, on a platter—the head of John the Baptizer!” 9 The king was sorry; but because of his oaths, and his guests, he gave orders for it to be given to her. 10 He sent to the prison and had John beheaded. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she passed it on to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took away the body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
The feeding of the five thousand
13 When Jesus heard it, he went away from there in a boat to a deserted spot by himself. The crowds heard about it, and they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he came out and saw the large crowd, he was sorry for them. He healed their sick.
15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him.
“This is a deserted spot,” they said, “and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 “They don’t need to go away,” said Jesus. “You give them something to eat.”
17 “All we have here,” they said, “is five loaves of bread and two fish.”
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.
19 He told the crowds to sit down on the grass. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and looked up to heaven. He blessed the loaves, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 Everybody ate and was satisfied, and they picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces. 21 There were about five thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children.
22 Jesus at once made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the opposite shore, while he dismissed the crowds.
Jesus walks on water
23 After he had sent the crowds away, Jesus went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came he was there by himself. 24 The boat had already gone some distance from the shore and was being smashed around by the waves, since the wind was against it.
25 At the very dead of night he came towards them, walking on the water. 26 The disciples saw him walking on the sea and panicked. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they screamed in terror. 27 But Jesus at once spoke to them.
“Cheer up,” he said, “it’s me! Don’t be frightened!”
28 “If it’s really you, Master,” said Peter in reply, “give me the word to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come along, then,” said Jesus.
Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came towards Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind he was afraid, and began to sink.
“Master,” he yelled, “rescue me!”
31 Jesus at once reached out his hand and caught him.
“A fine lot of faith you’ve got!” he said. “Why did you doubt?”
32 They got into the boat, and the wind died down. 33 The people in the boat worshiped him.
“You really are God’s son!” they said.
34 So they crossed over to the land called Gennesaret. 35 The men of that region recognized him and sent word to all the surrounding district. They brought all their sick people to him, 36 and begged him to be allowed simply to touch the hem of his clothes. And everyone who touched it was cured.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
