⁷ Now Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything that was going on. He was bewildered, because some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. ⁸ Others were saying that Elijah had appeared. Still others were saying that a prophet of long ago had come back to life. ⁹ But Herod said, “I had John’s head cut off. So who is it that I hear such things about?” And he tried to see Jesus.

John the Baptist’s Head Is Cut Off

¹⁴ King Herod heard about this. Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That is why he has the power to do miracles.”

¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.”

Still others claimed, “He is a prophet. He is like one of the prophets of long ago.”

¹⁶ But when Herod heard this, he said, “I had John’s head cut off. And now he has been raised from the dead!”

¹⁷ In fact, it was Herod himself who had given orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. But now Herod was married to her. ¹⁸ John had been saying to Herod, “It is against the Law for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ Herodias couldn’t forgive John for saying that. She wanted to kill him. But she could not, ²⁰ because Herod was afraid of John. So he kept John safe. Herod knew John was a holy man who did what was right. When Herod heard him, he was very puzzled. But he liked to listen to John.

²¹ Finally the right time came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday. He invited his high officials and military leaders. He also invited the most important men in Galilee. ²² Then the daughter of Herodias came in and danced. She pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want. I’ll give it to you.” ²³ And he gave her his promise. He said to her, “Anything you ask for I will give you. I’ll give you up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵ At once the girl hurried to ask the king. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a big plate right now.”

²⁶ The king was very upset. But he thought about his promise and his dinner guests. So he did not want to say no to the girl. ²⁷ He sent a man right away to bring John’s head. The man went to the prison and cut off John’s head. ²⁸ He brought it back on a big plate. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ John’s disciples heard about this. So they came and took his body. Then they placed it in a tomb.

John the Baptist’s Head Is Cut Off

14 At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee and Perea, heard reports about Jesus. ² He said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead! That is why he has the power to do miracles.”

³ Herod had arrested John. He had tied him up and put him in prison because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. ⁴ John had been saying to Herod, “It is against the Law for you to have her as your wife.” ⁵ Herod wanted to kill John. But he was afraid of the people, because they thought John was a prophet.

⁶ On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and his guests. She pleased Herod very much. ⁷ So he promised to give her anything she asked for. ⁸ Her mother told her what to say. So the girl said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptist on a big plate.” ⁹ The king was very upset. But he thought of his promise and his dinner guests. So he told one of his men to give her what she asked for. ¹⁰ Herod had John’s head cut off in the prison. ¹¹ His head was brought in on a big plate and given to the girl. She then carried it to her mother. ¹² John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

¹³ Jesus heard what had happened to John. He wanted to be alone. So he went in a boat to a quiet place. The crowds heard about this. They followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. He healed their sick people.

¹⁵ When it was almost evening, the disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already getting late. Send the crowds away. They can go and buy some food in the villages.”

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ Then Jesus directed the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to the disciples. And the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ All of them ate and were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces. ²¹ The number of men who ate was about 5,000. Women and children also ate.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. ³¹ But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said to his apostles, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.”

³² So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place. ³³ But many people who saw them leaving recognized them. They ran from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵ By that time it was late in the day. His disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away. Then they can go to the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat.”

³⁷ But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s pay! Should we go and spend that much on bread? Are we supposed to feed them?”

³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”

³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of 100s and 50s. ⁴¹ Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to his disciples to pass around to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² All of them ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ The disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of men who had eaten was 5,000.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰ The disciples returned. They told Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him. They went off by themselves to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds learned about it and followed Jesus. He welcomed them and spoke to them about God’s kingdom. He also healed those who needed to be healed.

¹² Late in the afternoon the 12 disciples came to him. They said, “Send the crowd away. They can go to the nearby villages and countryside. There they can find food and a place to stay. There is nothing here.”

¹³ Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.”

The disciples answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. We would have to go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴ About 5,000 men were there.

But Jesus said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about 50 each.” ¹⁵ The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶ Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke them into pieces. Then he gave them to the disciples to give to the people. ¹⁷ All of them ate and were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It is also called the Sea of Tiberias. ² A large crowd of people followed him. They had seen the signs he had done by healing sick people. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside. There he sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Feast was near.

⁵ Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him. So he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test Philip. He already knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “Suppose we were able to buy enough bread for each person to have just a bite. That would take more than half a year’s pay!”

⁸ Another of his disciples spoke up. It was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He said, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small loaves of barley bread. He also has two small fish. But how far will that go in such a large crowd?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down. About 5,000 men were there. ¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks. He handed out the bread to those who were seated. He gave them as much as they wanted. And he did the same with the fish.

¹² When all of them had enough to eat, Jesus spoke to his disciples. “Gather the leftover pieces,” he said. “Don’t waste anything.” ¹³ So they gathered what was left over from the five barley loaves. They filled 12 baskets with the pieces left by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ The people saw the sign that Jesus did. Then they began to say, “This must be the Prophet who is supposed to come into the world.” ¹⁵ But Jesus knew that they planned to come and force him to be their king. So he went away again to a mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Water

⁴⁵ Right away Jesus made his disciples get into the boat. He had them go on ahead of him to Bethsaida. Then he sent the crowd away. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

⁴⁷ Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples pulling hard on the oars. The wind was blowing against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them. He walked on the lake. When he was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹ they saw him walking on the lake. They thought he was a ghost, so they cried out. ⁵⁰ They all saw him and were terrified.

Right away Jesus said to them, “Be brave! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he climbed into the boat with them. The wind died down. And they were completely amazed. ⁵² They had not understood about the loaves. They were stubborn.

Jesus Walks on the Water

²² Right away Jesus made the disciples get into the boat. He had them go on ahead of him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then he sent the crowd away. ²³ After he had sent them away, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone. ²⁴ The boat was already a long way from land. It was being pounded by the waves because the wind was blowing against it.

²⁵ Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to the disciples. He walked on the lake. ²⁶ They saw him walking on the lake and were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said. And they cried out in fear.

²⁷ Right away Jesus called out to them, “Be brave! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ “Lord, is it you?” Peter asked. “If it is, tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” Jesus said.

So Peter got out of the boat. He walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid. He began to sink. He cried out, “Lord! Save me!”

³¹ Right away Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “Your faith is so small!” he said. “Why did you doubt me?”

³² When they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those in the boat worshiped Jesus. They said, “You really are the Son of God!”

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁶ When evening came, Jesus’ disciples went down to the Sea of Galilee. ¹⁷ There they got into a boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. By now it was dark. Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing, and the water became rough. ¹⁹ They rowed about three or four miles. Then they saw Jesus coming toward the boat. He was walking on the water. They were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ²¹ Then they agreed to take him into the boat. Right away the boat reached the shore where they were heading.