Matthew 14
English Standard Version
The Death of John the Baptist
14 (A)At that time (B)Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, (C)“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For (D)Herod had seized John and bound him and (E)put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,[a] 4 because John had been saying to him, (F)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, (G)he feared the people, because they held him to be (H)a prophet. 6 But when Herod's (I)birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give 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 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent 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 And (J)his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this, (K)he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he (L)saw a great crowd, and (M)he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; (N)send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; (O)you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, (P)he looked up to heaven and (Q)said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 (R)Immediately he (S)made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, (T)he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When (U)evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way[b] from the land,[c] beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And (V)in the fourth watch of the night[d] he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, (W)they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, (X)“Take heart; it is I. (Y)Do not be afraid.”
28 And 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 and (Z)walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,[e] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, (AA)“Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, (AB)“O you of little faith, why did you (AC)doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, (AD)the wind ceased. 33 And (AE)those in the boat (AF)worshiped him, saying, (AG)“Truly you are (AH)the Son of God.”
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 (AI)And when they had crossed over, they came to land at (AJ)Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and (AK)brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch (AL)the fringe of his garment. And (AM)as many as touched it were made well.
Footnotes
- Matthew 14:3 Some manuscripts his brother's wife
- Matthew 14:24 Greek many stadia, a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters
- Matthew 14:24 Some manuscripts was out on the sea
- Matthew 14:25 That is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
- Matthew 14:30 Some manuscripts strong wind
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
Worldwide English (New Testament)
14 At this time Herod the ruler heard of Jesus.
2 He said to his servants, `This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from death. That is why he is able to do such great work.'
3 Herod had taken John and tied him up. He put him in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of his brother Philip.
4 John had said to Herod, `It is not right for you to have her for your wife.'
5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people. They thought John was a prophet, a man of God.
6 On Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for the people who were there. She pleased Herod.
7 He was so pleased that he promised to give her anything she asked for.
8 The girl's mother told her what to ask for. So she said, `Give me here, on a plate, the head of John the Baptizer.'
9 The king was very sorry to do this. But he had made a promise. And all the people who were there had heard him promise. So he gave orders to do it.
10 He sent someone to the prison to cut off John's head.
11 John's head was brought on a plate. It was given to the girl. And she took it to her mother.
12 Then John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. They went and told Jesus.
13 When Jesus heard this, he went away from there in a boat. He went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard that he went away and they followed him. They walked from the towns around there.
14 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw many people. He was sorry for them and he healed those who were sick.
15 In the evening the disciples came to him. They said, `This is a lonely place. And the time is late. Send these people away so they can go to the farms and villages to buy food for themselves.'
16 Jesus said to them, `They need not go away. You give them food to eat.'
17 They said, `We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.'
18 Jesus said, `Bring them here to me.'
19 Then Jesus told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. The disciples gave it to the people.
20 They all ate and had enough. They gathered twelve baskets full of pieces that were left.
21 The number of men who ate was about five thousand, besides some women and children.
22 Then Jesus told the disciples, `You get into the boat right away and go ahead of me to the other side of the sea. And I will send these people away.'
23 After he had sent them away, he went up on the hill by himself to talk with God. Evening came and he was there alone.
24 The boat was far out on the water by this time. The water was beating against the boat and the wind was blowing the wrong way.
25 When it was almost morning, Jesus came to them. He was walking on the water.
26 His disciples saw him walking on the water. They were afraid, and said, `It is a spirit!' Then they shouted loudly because they were afraid.
27 Then Jesus spoke to them right away. He said, `Be glad! It is I. Do not fear.'
28 Peter said, `Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.'
29 Jesus said, `Come.' So Peter got out of the boat. He walked on the water and went toward Jesus.
30 He saw what the wind did. Then he was afraid and began to go down in the water. He called out, `Lord, save me!'
31 Right away Jesus put out his hand and took hold of him. He said, `You do not believe very much in me! Why did you not believe?'
32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing.
33 Then the men in the boat bowed down in front of Jesus. They said, `You really are the Son of God.'
34 They crossed over the sea and came to the land at Gennesaret.
35 The men there knew him and sent word to the people in all the country around. They brought all the sick people to him.
36 They begged Jesus to let them touch his clothes. And all the people who touched him were healed.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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