Matthew 14-15

Tree of Life Version

Yeshua’s Cousin Beheaded

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Yeshua. ² He said to his servants, “This is John the Immerser—he has risen from the dead! Because of this, these powers are at work in Him.” ³ For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, ⁴ because John had been telling him, “It is not permitted for you to have her.” ^{[a] 5} Although Herod wanted to kill John, he feared the crowd because they considered John a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday celebration came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, ⁷ so much 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 Immerser, here on a platter!” ⁹ The king became sorrowful; but because of his oaths and those reclining with him, he commanded it to be given. ¹⁰ And he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² John’s disciples came forth and took the body and buried it. Then they went and reported to Yeshua.

Feeding Hungry Followers

¹³ Now when Yeshua heard this, He went away from there privately by boat to an isolated place. But when the crowds heard, they followed Him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ As Yeshua came ashore, He saw a large crowd and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ When it became evening, the disciples came to Him, saying, “This place is isolated, and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶ But Yeshua said to them, “They don’t need to leave—you give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish,” they said to Him.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to Me,” He said.

¹⁹ Ordering the crowd to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish; and looking up to heaven, He offered the bracha. After breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces left over. ²¹ Now those eating were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Testing Peter’s Faith to Walk on Water

²² Right away, Yeshua made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. ²³ After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the hillside by Himself to pray. And when evening came, He was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was already a long way^[b] from land, tossed around by the waves, for the wind was against it. ²⁵ Now in the fourth watch^[c] of the night, Yeshua came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It’s a ghost!” And they cried out with fear.

²⁷ But immediately, Yeshua spoke to them, saying, “Take courage! I am. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ Answering, Peter said to Him, “Master, if it’s 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 to go to Yeshua. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became terrified. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Master, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Yeshua reached out His hand and grabbed him. And He said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

³² When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You really are Ben-Elohim!”^[d]

³⁴ After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized Yeshua, they sent word into all the surrounding region. And they brought to Him all those who were in bad shape ³⁶ and kept begging Him that they might just touch the tzitzit of His garment—and all who touched it were cured.

Religious Leaders Quiz Yeshua

15 Then some Pharisees and Torah scholars came to Yeshua from Jerusalem. They said, ² “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not do the ritual handwashing when they eat bread.”

³ And answering, He said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^[e] and ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.’ ^{[f] 5} But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever you might have gained from me is a gift to God,” ^{[g] 6} he need not honor his father.’ On account of your tradition, you made void the word of God. ⁷ Hypocrites! Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying,

¹⁰ Then Yeshua called the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. ¹¹ It’s not what goes into the mouth that makes the man unholy; but what comes out of the mouth, this makes the man unholy.”^[i]

¹² Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this saying?”

¹³ But He replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Leave them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

¹⁶ “Are you also still lacking understanding?” Yeshua said. ¹⁷ “Don’t you grasp that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is ejected into the sewer? ¹⁸ But the things that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and those things make the man unholy. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. ^{[j] 20} These are the things that make the man unholy; but to eat with unwashed hands does not make the man unholy.”

A Reward for a Humble Woman

²¹ Now Yeshua left from there and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, a Canaanite woman from that district came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, O Master, Ben-David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.”

²³ But He did not answer her a word. And when His disciples came, they were urging Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”

²⁴ But He responded, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵ So she came and got down on her knees before Him, saying, “Master, help me!”

²⁶ And answering, He said, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷ But she said, “Yes, Master, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸ Then answering, Yeshua said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed in that very hour.

²⁹ After Yeshua left there, He went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountainside and was sitting there. ³⁰ And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, blind, disabled, mute, and many others. And they laid them at His feet, and He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the disabled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.^[k] And they praised the God of Israel.

Feeding More Hungry Followers

³² Yeshua called His disciples and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they’ve stayed with Me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, because they might pass out on the way.”

³³ The disciples said to Him, “Where in this wasteland is enough bread to satisfy such a large crowd?”

³⁴ Yeshua said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”

“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵ After directing the crowd to recline on the ground, ³⁶ He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks, He broke them. And He began giving them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. ³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up the broken pieces left over—seven baskets full. ³⁸ And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ And after sending away the crowds, Yeshua got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.