Matthew 14
Living Bible
14 When King Herod[a] heard about Jesus, 2 he said to his men, “This must be John the Baptist, come back to life again. That is why he can do these miracles.” 3 For Herod had arrested John and chained him in prison at the demand of[b] his wife Herodias, his brother Philip’s ex-wife, 4 because John had told him it was wrong for him to marry her. 5 He would have killed John but was afraid of a riot, for all the people believed John was a prophet.
6 But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him, 7 so he vowed to give her anything she wanted. 8 Consequently, at her mother’s urging, the girl asked for John the Baptist’s head on a tray.
9 The king was grieved, but because of his oath, and because he didn’t want to back down in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.
10 So John was beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.
12 Then John’s disciples came for his body and buried it, and came to tell Jesus what had happened.
13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he went off by himself in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds saw where he was headed and followed by land from many villages.
14 So when Jesus came out of the wilderness, a vast crowd was waiting for him, and he pitied them and healed their sick.
15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, “It is already past time for supper, and there is nothing to eat here in the desert; send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy some food.”
16 But Jesus replied, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them!”
17 “What!” they exclaimed. “We have exactly five small loaves of bread and two fish!”
18 “Bring them here,” he said.
19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and two fish, looked up into the sky, and asked God’s blessing on the meal, then broke the loaves apart and gave them to the disciples to place before the people. 20 And everyone ate until full! And when the scraps were picked up afterwards, there were twelve basketfuls left over! 21 (About five thousand men were in the crowd that day, besides all the women and children.)
22 Immediately after this, Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he stayed to get the people started home.
23-24 Then afterwards he went up into the hills to pray. Night fell, and out on the lake the disciples were in trouble. For the wind had risen and they were fighting heavy seas.
25 About four o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water! 26 They screamed in terror, for they thought he was a ghost.
27 But Jesus immediately spoke to them, reassuring them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said.
28 Then Peter called to him: “Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water.”
29 “All right,” the Lord said, “come along!”
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.
33 The others sat there, awestruck. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
34 They landed at Gennesaret. 35 The news of their arrival spread quickly throughout the city, and soon people were rushing around, telling everyone to bring in their sick to be healed. 36 The sick begged him to let them touch even the tassel of his robe, and all who did were healed.
Footnotes
- Matthew 14:1 King Herod, literally, “the Tetrarch”—he was one of four “kings” over this area, his sovereignty being Galilee and Peraea.
- Matthew 14:3 at the demand of, literally, “on account of.”
Matthew 14
Expanded Bible
How John the Baptist Was Killed(A)
14 At that time Herod, the ·ruler of Galilee [L tetrarch; see Luke 3:1], heard the reports about Jesus. 2 So he said to his servants, “·Jesus [L This] is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why ·he can work these miracles [L miraculous powers are at work in him].”
3 ·Sometime before this, [L For] Herod had arrested John, ·tied him up [chained/bound him], and put him into prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, who had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. 4 [L For] John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to ·be married to Herodias [have her].” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the ·people [crowd], because they ·believed John was [regarded John as] a prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and his guests, and she [greatly] pleased him. 7 So he ·promised [announced] with ·an oath [a vow] to give her anything she ·wanted [asked]. 8 ·Herodias told her daughter what to ask for, so [At her mother’s urging/prompting] she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 Although King Herod was very ·sad [sorry; grieved; distressed], he had made a ·promise [vow; oath], and his dinner guests had heard him. So Herod ·ordered [commanded] that what she asked for be done. 10 He sent soldiers to the prison to cut off John’s head. 11 And they brought it on a platter and gave it to the girl, and she took it to her mother. 12 John’s ·followers [disciples] came and got his ·body [corpse] and buried it. Then they went and ·told [reported it to] Jesus.
More than Five Thousand Fed(B)
13 When Jesus heard what had happened to John, he left in a boat and went to a ·lonely [isolated; deserted] place by himself. But the crowds heard about it and followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he ·arrived [landed; came ashore], he saw a great crowd waiting. He ·felt sorry [had compassion] for them and healed those who were sick.
15 When it was evening, his ·followers [disciples] came to him and said, “·No one lives in this [This is a remote/deserted] place, and it is already late. Send the people away so they can go to the ·towns [villages] and buy food for themselves.”
16 But Jesus answered, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 They said to him, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish.”
18 Jesus said, “Bring ·the bread and the fish [L them here] to me.” 19 Then he ·told [commanded; ordered] the people to ·sit down [recline] on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking to heaven, he ·thanked God for [blessed] the food. Jesus ·divided [broke] the bread and gave it to his ·followers [disciples], who gave it to the people. 20 All the people ate and were satisfied. Then ·the followers [L they] filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of food. 21 There were about five thousand men there who ate, not counting women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water(C)
22 Immediately Jesus ·told [compelled; made] his ·followers [disciples] to get into the boat and go ahead of him ·across the lake [to the other side]. He stayed there to ·send the people home [dismiss the crowds]. 23 After he had ·sent them away [dismissed them], he went by himself up into the ·hills [mountain] to pray. ·It was late, and [When evening/night came,] Jesus was there alone. 24 By this time, the boat was already ·far away [L many stadia; C a stadion was about six hundred feet] from land. It was being ·hit [buffeted; beaten] by waves, because the wind was blowing against it.
25 ·Between three and six o’clock in the morning [L And in the fourth watch of the night], Jesus came to them, walking on the water. 26 When his ·followers [disciples] saw him walking on the water, they were ·afraid [terrified]. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus ·quickly [immediately] spoke to them, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 Peter said, “Lord, if it is really you, then ·command [tell] me to come to you on the water.”
29 Jesus said, “Come.”
And Peter left the boat and walked on the water ·to [L and came toward] Jesus. 30 But when Peter saw the wind,[a] he became ·afraid [terrified] and began to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and ·caught [took hold of] Peter. Jesus said, “·Your faith is small [What little faith you have; T You of little faith]. Why did you doubt?”
32 After they got into the boat, the wind ·became calm [stopped; died down]. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “Truly you are the Son of God!”
Healings at Gennesaret(D)
34 When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret. 35 When the ·people there [or men of that place] recognized Jesus, they ·told people [sent word] all around there that Jesus had come, and they brought all their sick to him. 36 They begged Jesus to let them touch just the ·edge [or tassels; see Num. 15:38–39] of his ·coat [cloak], and all who touched it were healed.
Footnotes
- Matthew 14:30 wind Some Greek copies say “strong wind.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.