Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Chapter 14

Herod’s Opinion of Jesus. ^1 [a](A)At that time Herod the tetrarch^[b](B) heard of the reputation of Jesus^{(C) 2} and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”

The Death of John the Baptist. ^3 (D)Now Herod had arrested John, bound [him], and put him in prison on account of Herodias,^[c] the wife of his brother Philip, ^4 (E)for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ^5 (F)Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. ⁶ But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod ⁷ so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, ¹⁰ and he had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. ¹² His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

The Return of the Twelve and the Feeding of the Five Thousand.^{[d] 13 (G)}When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. ¹⁴ When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. ¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ [Jesus] said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” ¹⁷ But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” ¹⁸ Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” ¹⁹ and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking^[e] the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over^[f]—twelve wicker baskets full. ²¹ Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

The Walking on the Water.^{[g] 22 (H)}Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ^23 (I)After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. ²⁴ Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. ²⁵ During the fourth watch of the night,^[h] he came toward them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I;^[i] do not be afraid.” ²⁸ Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. ^30 (J)But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith,^[j] why did you doubt?” ³² After they got into the boat, the wind died down. ^33 [k](K)Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

The Healings at Gennesaret. ^34 (L)After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick ^36 (M)and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.

Chapter 15

The Tradition of the Elders.^{[l] 1 (N)}Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ^2 (O)“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?^[m] They do not wash [their] hands when they eat a meal.” ³ He said to them in reply, “And why do you break the commandment of God^[n] for the sake of your tradition? ^4 (P)For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ ^5 [o]But you say, ‘Whoever says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is dedicated to God,” ⁶ need not honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:

^10 (S)He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. ¹¹ It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” ¹² Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” ¹³ He said in reply,^[q] “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ^14 (T)Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ Then Peter^[r] said to him in reply, “Explain [this] parable to us.” ¹⁶ He said to them, “Are even you still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not realize that everything that enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine? ^18 (U)But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile. ^19 [s]For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. ²⁰ These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

The Canaanite Woman’s Faith.^{[t] 21 (V)}Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³ But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” ^24 [u]He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ^25 (W)But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children^[v] and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” ^28 (X)Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith!^[w] Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

The Healing of Many People. ²⁹ Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. ^30 (Y)Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. ³¹ The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand.^{[x] 32 (Z)}Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” ³³ The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” ³⁵ He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks,^[y] broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. ^37 (AA)They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets full. ³⁸ Those who ate were four thousand men, not counting women and children. ³⁹ And when he had dismissed the crowds, he got into the boat and came to the district of Magadan.