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.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth^(A)

6 Then ^(B)He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. ² And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were ^(C)astonished, saying, ^(D)“Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! ³ Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and ^(E)brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they ^(F)were offended at Him.

⁴ But Jesus said to them, ^(G)“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” ^5 (H)Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(I)He marveled because of their unbelief. ^(J)Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

Sending Out the Twelve^(K)

^7 (L)And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out ^(M)two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. ⁸ He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— ⁹ but ^(N)to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.

^10 (O)Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. ^11 (P)And ^[a]whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, ^(Q)shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. ^[b]Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”

¹² So they went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ And they cast out many demons, ^(R)and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

John the Baptist Beheaded^(S)

^14 (T)Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore ^(U)these powers are at work in him.”

^15 (V)Others said, “It is Elijah.”

And others said, “It is ^[c]the Prophet, ^(W)or like one of the prophets.”

^16 (X)But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” ¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. ¹⁸ Because John had said to Herod, ^(Y)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹ Therefore Herodias ^[d]held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; ²⁰ for Herod ^(Z)feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he ^[e]did many things, and heard him gladly.

^21 (AA)Then an opportune day came when Herod ^(AB)on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. ²² And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ He also swore to her, ^(AC)“Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”

And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!”

²⁵ Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

^26 (AD)And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, ²⁸ brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard of it, they came and ^(AE)took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

Feeding the Five Thousand^(AF)

^30 (AG)Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. ^31 (AH)And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For ^(AI)there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. ^32 (AJ)So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.

³³ But ^[f]the multitudes saw them departing, and many ^(AK)knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. ^34 (AL)And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like ^(AM)sheep not having a shepherd. So ^(AN)He began to teach them many things. ^35 (AO)When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. ³⁶ Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves ^[g]bread; for they have nothing to eat.”

³⁷ But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

And they said to Him, ^(AP)“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”

³⁸ But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

And when they found out they said, ^(AQ)“Five, and two fish.”

³⁹ Then He ^(AR)commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. ⁴¹ And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He ^(AS)looked up to heaven, ^(AT)blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. ⁴² So they all ate and were filled. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. ⁴⁴ Now those who had eaten the loaves were ^[h]about five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Sea^(AU)

^45 (AV)Immediately He ^[i]made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. ⁴⁶ And when He had sent them away, He ^(AW)departed to the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and ^(AX)would have passed them by. ⁴⁹ And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ^(AY)ghost, and cried out; ⁵⁰ for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, ^(AZ)“Be^[j] of good cheer! It is I; do not be ^(BA)afraid.” ⁵¹ Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ^(BB)ceased. And they were greatly ^(BC)amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. ⁵² For ^(BD)they had not understood about the loaves, because their ^(BE)heart was hardened.

Many Touch Him and Are Made Well^(BF)

^53 (BG)When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. ⁵⁴ And when they came out of the boat, immediately ^[k]the people recognized Him, ⁵⁵ ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. ⁵⁶ Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that ^(BH)they might just touch the ^(BI)hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.

Feeding the Five Thousand^(A)

6 After ^(B)these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of ^(C)Tiberias. ² Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were ^(D)diseased.^{[a] 3} And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

^4 (E)Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. ^5 (F)Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to ^(G)Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” ⁶ But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

⁷ Philip answered Him, ^(H)“Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

⁸ One of His disciples, ^(I)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, ^(J)but what are they among so many?”

¹⁰ Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them ^[b]to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” ¹³ Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly ^(K)the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Walks on the Sea^(L)

¹⁵ Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him ^(M)king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

^16 (N)Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. ¹⁸ Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. ¹⁹ So when they had rowed about ^[c]three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were ^(O)afraid. ²⁰ But He said to them, ^(P)“It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

The Bread from Heaven

²² On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except ^[d]that one ^[e]which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— ²³ however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— ²⁴ when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, ^(Q)seeking Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ^27 (R)Do not labor for the food which perishes, but ^(S)for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, ^(T)because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, ^(U)“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

³⁰ Therefore they said to Him, ^(V)“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ^31 (W)Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ^(X)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³² Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but ^(Y)My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

^34 (Z)Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ And Jesus said to them, ^(AA)“I am the bread of life. ^(AB)He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never ^(AC)thirst. ^36 (AD)But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet ^(AE)do not believe. ^37 (AF)All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and ^(AG)the one who comes to Me I will ^[f]by no means cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, ^(AH)not to do My own will, ^(AI)but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, ^(AJ)that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, ^(AK)that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Rejected by His Own

⁴¹ The Jews then ^[g]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴² And they said, ^(AL)“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

⁴³ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ^[h]“Do not murmur among yourselves. ^44 (AM)No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(AN)draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ^(AO)‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ ^(AP)Therefore everyone who ^[i]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ^46 (AQ)Not that anyone has seen the Father, ^(AR)except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(AS)he who believes ^[j]in Me has everlasting life. ^48 (AT)I am the bread of life. ^49 (AU)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ^50 (AV)This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(AW)which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and ^(AX)the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

⁵² The Jews therefore ^(AY)quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless ^(AZ)you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ^54 (BA)Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is ^[k]food indeed, and My blood is ^[l]drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^(BB)abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ^58 (BC)This is the bread which came down from heaven—not ^(BD)as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Turn Away

^60 (BE)Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a ^[m]hard saying; who can understand it?”

⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples ^[n]complained about this, He said to them, “Does this ^[o]offend you? ^62 (BF)What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ^63 (BG)It is the Spirit who gives life; the ^(BH)flesh profits nothing. The ^(BI)words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But ^(BJ)there are some of you who do not believe.” For ^(BK)Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He said, “Therefore ^(BL)I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

^66 (BM)From that time many of His disciples went ^[p]back and walked with Him no more. ⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

⁶⁸ But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(BN)the words of eternal life. ^69 (BO)Also we have come to believe and know that You are the ^[q]Christ, the Son of the living God.”

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, ^(BP)“Did I not choose you, the twelve, ^(BQ)and one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹ He spoke of ^(BR)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would ^(BS)betray Him, being one of the twelve.