Matthew 14
New American Standard Bible
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 [a](A)At that time [b](B)Herod [c]the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2 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.”
3 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. 4 For John had been saying to him, “(G)It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded [d]John as (H)a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of (I)Herodias danced [e]before them and pleased (J)Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 And after being prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 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
- Matthew 14:1 Or On that occasion
- Matthew 14:1 I.e., Herod Antipas
- Matthew 14:1 I.e., a regional ruler
- Matthew 14:5 Lit him
- Matthew 14:6 Lit in the midst
- Matthew 14:9 Lit those who reclined at the table with him
- Matthew 14:12 Lit his
- Matthew 14:12 Lit him
- Matthew 14:13 Lit the crowds
- Matthew 14:14 Lit out
- Matthew 14:19 Lit recline
- Matthew 14:24 Lit many stadia from; a Roman stadion perhaps averaged 607 ft. or 185 m
- Matthew 14:24 Lit tormented
- Matthew 14:24 Or adverse
- Matthew 14:25 I.e., 3-6 a.m.
- Matthew 14:26 Lit from
- Matthew 14:27 Lit I am
- Matthew 14:28 Lit You are
- Matthew 14:35 Or found out about
- Matthew 14:36 Or tassel; i.e., a ritual tassel sewn to corners of garments for Jewish men
Matthew 14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Death of John the Baptist
14 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus,(A) 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,(B) 4 because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”(C) 5 Though Herod[a] wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet.(D) 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took the body and buried him; then they went and told Jesus.
Feeding the Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.(E) 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”(F) 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.(G) 20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,(H) 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,[b] for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.(I) 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”(J)
28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind,[c] he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”(K) 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”(L)
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word to that whole surrounding region, and people brought all who were sick to him 36 and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.(M)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.