¹¹ When the local Jewish leaders learned of his arrival, they came to argue with him.^[a]

“Do a miracle for us,” they said. “Make something happen in the sky. Then we will believe in you.”

¹² He sighed deeply when he heard this and he said, “Certainly not. How many more miracles do you people need?”^[b]

¹³ So he got back into the boat and left them, and crossed to the other side of the lake. ¹⁴ But the disciples had forgotten to stock up on food before they left and had only one loaf of bread in the boat.

¹⁵ As they were crossing, Jesus said to them very solemnly, “Beware of the yeast of King Herod and of the Pharisees.”

¹⁶ “What does he mean?” the disciples asked each other. They finally decided that he must be talking about their forgetting to bring bread.

¹⁷ Jesus realized what they were discussing and said, “No, that isn’t it at all! Can’t you understand? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ¹⁸ ‘Your eyes are to see with—why don’t you look? Why don’t you open your ears and listen?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?

¹⁹ “What about the 5,000 men I fed with five loaves of bread? How many basketfuls of scraps did you pick up afterwards?”

“Twelve,” they said.

²⁰ “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how much was left?”

“Seven basketfuls,” they said.

²¹ “And yet you think I’m worried that we have no bread?”^[c]

147 Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! How good it is to sing his praises! How delightful, and how right!

³ He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds. ⁴ He counts the stars and calls them all by name. ⁵ How great he is! His power is absolute! His understanding is unlimited. ⁶ The Lord supports the humble, but brings the wicked into the dust.

⁷ Sing out your thanks to him; sing praises to our God, accompanied by harps. ⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds, sends down the showers, and makes the green grass grow in mountain pastures. ⁹ He feeds the wild animals, and the young ravens cry to him for food. ¹⁰ The speed of a horse is nothing to him. How puny in his sight is the strength of a man. ¹¹ But his joy is in those who reverence him, those who expect him to be loving and kind.

¹² Praise him, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!