Matthew 14  Lexham English Bible

Herod Kills John the Baptist

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus ² and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist! He has been raised from the dead, and for this reason miraculous powers are at work in him.” ³ For Herod, after^[a] arresting John, bound him and put him^[b] in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, ⁴ because John had been saying to him, “It is not permitted for you to have her.” ⁵ And although he^[c] wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, because they looked upon him as a prophet.

⁶ But when^[d] Herod’s birthday celebration took place, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst of them and pleased Herod. ⁷ Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ And coached by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter!” ⁹ And although^[e] the king was distressed, because of his oaths and his dinner guests^[f] he commanded the request^[g] to be granted. ¹⁰ And he sent orders^[h] and^[i] had John beheaded in the prison, ¹¹ and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it^[j] to her mother. ¹² And his disciples came and^[k] took away the corpse and buried it, and went and^[l] told Jesus.

The Feeding of Five Thousand

¹³ Now when^[m] Jesus heard it,^[n] he withdrew from there in a boat to an isolated place by himself. And when^[o] the crowds heard it,^[p] they followed him by land from the towns. ¹⁴ And as he^[q] got out, he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ Now when it^[r] was evening, the disciples came to him saying, “The place is desolate and the hour is late.^[s] Release the crowds so that they can go away into the villages and^[t] purchase food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need^[u] to go away. You give them something^[v] to eat.” ¹⁷ And they said to him, “We do not have anything^[w] here except five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸ So he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ And he commanded the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and^[x] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks. And after^[y] breaking them,^[z] he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them^[aa] to the crowds. ²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹ Now those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

²² And immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent away the crowds. ²³ And after he^[ab] sent away the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. So when^[ac] evening came, he was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was already many stadia distant from the land, being beaten by the waves, because the wind was against it. ²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But the disciples, when they^[ad] saw him walking on the sea, were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Have courage, I am he! Do not be afraid!” ²⁸ And Peter answered him and^[ae] said, “Lord, if it is you,^[af] command me to come to you on the water!” ²⁹ So he said, “Come!” And getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he^[ag] saw the strong wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ And immediately Jesus extended his^[ah] hand and^[ai] caught him and said to him, “You of little faith! Why did you doubt?” ³² And when^[aj] they got into the boat, the wind abated. ³³ So those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God!”

Many Healed at Gennesaret

³⁴ And after they^[ak] had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when^[al] the men of that place recognized him, they sent word into that whole surrounding region, and they brought to him all those who were sick.^{[am] 36} And they were imploring him that they might only touch the edge^[an] of his cloak, and all those who touched it^[ao] were cured.