John the Baptist Beheaded

14 [a](A)At that time [b](B)Herod [c]the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 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.”

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. For John had been saying to him, “(G)It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded [d]John as (H)a prophet.

But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of (I)Herodias danced [e]before them and pleased (J)Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. And after being prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 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

  1. Matthew 14:1 Or On that occasion
  2. Matthew 14:1 I.e., Herod Antipas
  3. Matthew 14:1 I.e., a regional ruler
  4. Matthew 14:5 Lit him
  5. Matthew 14:6 Lit in the midst
  6. Matthew 14:9 Lit those who reclined at the table with him
  7. Matthew 14:12 Lit his
  8. Matthew 14:12 Lit him
  9. Matthew 14:13 Lit the crowds
  10. Matthew 14:14 Lit out
  11. Matthew 14:19 Lit recline
  12. Matthew 14:24 Lit many stadia from; a Roman stadion perhaps averaged 607 ft. or 185 m
  13. Matthew 14:24 Lit tormented
  14. Matthew 14:24 Or adverse
  15. Matthew 14:25 I.e., 3-6 a.m.
  16. Matthew 14:26 Lit from
  17. Matthew 14:27 Lit I am
  18. Matthew 14:28 Lit You are
  19. Matthew 14:35 Or found out about
  20. Matthew 14:36 Or tassel; i.e., a ritual tassel sewn to corners of garments for Jewish men

Herod Says The Miracles of Jesus Mean He Is John The Baptist Back From The Dead

14 At that time, Herod the tetrarch[a] heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants, “This One is John the Baptist. He himself arose from the dead, and for this reason the miraculous-powers[b] are at-work in him”.

For Herod Had Beheaded John The Baptist

For[c] Herod, having seized John, bound him and put him away in prison because of Herodias[d], the wife of Philip[e] his brother. For John was saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her”. And while wanting to kill him, he feared the crowd, because they were holding him as a prophet. But at Herod’s birthday-celebrations having come about, the daughter[f] of Herodias danced in their midst. And she pleased Herod. Hence, he declared with an oath to give her whatever she asked. And the one, having been prompted[g] by her mother, says, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist”. And [although] having been grieved, the king ordered that it be given, because of the oaths and the ones reclining-back-with him [to eat]. 10 And having sent, he beheaded John 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 And having come to him, his disciples took away the corpse and buried him. And having gone[h], they reported it to Jesus.

Jesus Creates More Than Enough Bread And Fish To Feed 5000 Men

13 And having heard-of it [i], Jesus withdrew from there privately in a boat to a desolate place. And having heard-of it, the crowds followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And having gone-out[j], He saw a large crowd and felt-deep-feelings [of compassion] for them. And He cured their sick ones. 15 And having become evening[k], the disciples came to Him saying, “This place is desolate and the hour already passed. Send-away the crowds in order that having gone away into the villages, they may buy themselves food”. 16 But Jesus said to them, “They have no need to go away— you give them something to eat”. 17 But the ones say to Him, “We do not have anything here except five loaves and two fish!” 18 But the One said, “Bring them here to Me”. 19 And having ordered the crowds to lie-back on the grass, having taken the five loaves and the two fish, having looked up to heaven, He blessed[l] them. And having broken them, He gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were filled-to-satisfaction. And they picked up the amount of the fragments being left over— twelve full baskets. 21 And the ones eating were about five-thousand men, apart from women and children.

Jesus Walks Across The Raging Sea To His Disciples. They Say, Truly You Are God’s Son

22 And immediately He compelled[m] the disciples to get into the boat and to be going ahead of Him to the other side while[n] He sent-away the crowds. 23 And having sent-away the crowds, He went up on the mountain privately to pray. And having become evening[o], He was there alone. 24 And the boat was already many stades[p] distant from the land, being tormented by the waves. For the wind was contrary. 25 And He came to them in the fourth watch[q] of the night, walking across[r] the sea. 26 But the disciples, having seen Him walking on the sea, were frightened, saying that “It is a phantom[s]”. And they cried-out from the fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take-courage, I am[t] the One. Do not be afraid[u]”. 28 But having responded to Him, Peter said, “Master, if You are[v] the One, order me to come to You across the waters”. 29 And the One said, “Come”. And having gone down from the boat, Peter walked across the waters and came[w] to Jesus. 30 But seeing the strong wind, he became afraid. And having begun to sink, he cried-out, saying, “Master, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus, having stretched-out His hand, took-hold-of him. And He says to him, “One of-little-faith, for what purpose[x] did you doubt?” 32 And they having gone-up[y] into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And the ones in the boat gave-worship[z] to Him, saying, “Truly[aa] You are God’s Son”.

In Gennesaret, All Who Just Touch The Tassel of His Garment Are Healed

34 And having crossed-over, they came on land in Gennesaret. 35 And having recognized Him, the men of that place sent out into that whole surrounding-region. And they brought to Him all the ones being ill. 36 And they were begging Him that they might only touch the tassel of His garment. And all-who touched it were restored.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 14:1 Or governor, appointed by Rome. That is, Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great (Mt 2:1). He was governor of Galilee and Perea from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, when he was exiled. His capital was Tiberius, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. He divorced the daughter of Aretas (2 Cor 11:32) to marry Herodias, v 3.
  2. Matthew 14:2 Or, the Powers, the supernatural beings who were the source of these miracles in Herod’s mind.
  3. Matthew 14:3 Matthew now explains what happened to John at some time previous to this (see Mk 1:14), then continues in v 13.
  4. Matthew 14:3 She was a grand-daughter of Herod the Great, daughter of Aristobulus, sister of Agrippa I (Act 12:1).
  5. Matthew 14:3 That is, Philip I, a private citizen in Rome. Antipas, Aristobulus, and Philip were sons of Herod the Great from three different wives.
  6. Matthew 14:6 Herodias had a daughter named Salome when she was married to Philip I. This may be the girl mentioned here.
  7. Matthew 14:8 Or, put forward, coached, instructed. See Mk 6:22.
  8. Matthew 14:12 Or, come.
  9. Matthew 14:13 That is, heard that Herod said Jesus was John raised from the dead, v 1-2. Perhaps Jesus also heard of John’s death at this time. Matthew does not tell us how long prior to v 1-2 John’s death occurred.
  10. Matthew 14:14 Or, come-out.
  11. Matthew 14:15 That is, late in the day before sundown, between 3 and 6 p.m.
  12. Matthew 14:19 That is, the loaves. Or, blessed God, spoke a blessing.
  13. Matthew 14:22 Jn 6:15 explains why.
  14. Matthew 14:22 Or, until which time.
  15. Matthew 14:23 That is, later on since v 15, between 6 and 9 p.m.
  16. Matthew 14:24 A stade is 607 feet or 185 meters. Compare Jn 6:19.
  17. Matthew 14:25 That is, between 3 and 6 a.m.
  18. Matthew 14:25 Or, over.
  19. Matthew 14:26 Or, ghost.
  20. Matthew 14:27 That is, It is Me.
  21. Matthew 14:27 That is, Stop being afraid.
  22. Matthew 14:28 That is, if it is You.
  23. Matthew 14:29 Or, went.
  24. Matthew 14:31 Or, to what end. What was the point of doubting?
  25. Matthew 14:32 Or, come up.
  26. Matthew 14:33 Or, prostrated-themselves before.
  27. Matthew 14:33 Or, Really, Actually.