Matthew 14
1 At that time news of Jesus came to Herod the king;
At that time Prince Herod heard of the fame of Jesus,
2 And he said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he has come back from the dead, and so these powers are working in him.
and said to his attendants, ‘This must be John the Baptist; he must be risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are active in him.’
3 For Herod had taken John and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.
For Herod had arrested John, put him in chains, and shut him up in prison, to please Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip.
4 Because John had said to him, It is not right for you to have her.
For John had said to him “You have no right to be living with her.”
5 And he would have put him to death, but for his fear of the people, because in their eyes John was a prophet.
Yet, though Herod wanted to put him to death, he was afraid of the people, because they looked on John as a prophet.
6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias was dancing before them, and Herod was pleased with her.
But, when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before his guests, and so pleased Herod,
7 So he gave her his word with an oath to let her have whatever she might make request for.
that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.
8 And she, at her mother's suggestion, said, Give me here on a plate the head of John the Baptist.
Prompted by her mother, the girl said “Give me here, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist.”
9 And the king was sad; but because of his oaths and because of his guests, he gave the order for it to be given to her;
The king was distressed at this; yet, because of his oath and of the guests at his table, he ordered it to be given her.
10 And he sent and had John's head cut off in the prison.
He had John beheaded in the prison
11 And his head was put on a plate and given to the girl; and she took it to her mother.
and his head was brought on a dish and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother.
12 And his disciples came, and took up his body and put it in the earth; and they went and gave Jesus news of what had taken place.
Then John’s disciples came, and took the body away, and buried it; and went and told Jesus.
13 Now when it came to the ears of Jesus, he went away from there in a boat, to a waste place by himself: and the people hearing of it, went after him on foot from the towns.
When Jesus heard of it, he left privately in a boat to a lonely spot. The people, however, heard of his going, and followed him in crowds from the towns on foot.
14 And he came out and saw a great number of people and he had pity on them, and made well those of them who were ill.
On getting out of the boat, Jesus saw a great crowd, and his heart was moved at the sight of them; and he cured all the sick among them.
15 And when evening had come, the disciples came to him, saying, This place is waste land, and the time is now past; send the people away so that they may go into the towns and get themselves food.
In the evening the disciples came up to him, and said, ‘This is a lonely spot, and the day is now far advanced; send the crowds away so that they can go to the villages, and buy themselves food.’
16 But Jesus said to them, There is no need for them to go away; give them food yourselves.
But Jesus said, ‘They need not go away, it is for you to give them something to eat.’
17 And they say to him, We have here but five cakes of bread and two fishes.
‘We have nothing here,’ they said, ‘except five loaves and two fish.’
18 And he said, Give them to me.
‘Bring them here to me,’ was his reply.
19 And he gave orders for the people to be seated on the grass; and he took the five cakes of bread and the two fishes and, looking up to heaven, he said words of blessing, and made division of the food, and gave it to the disciples, and the disciples gave it to the people.
Jesus ordered the people to take their seats on the grass; and, taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and said the blessing, and, after he had broken the loaves, gave them to his disciples; and they gave them to the crowds.
20 And they all took of the food and had enough: and they took up twelve baskets full of broken bits which were not used.
Everyone had sufficient to eat, and they picked up enough of the broken pieces that were left to fill twelve baskets.
21 And those who had food were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.
The men who ate were about five thousand in number, without counting women and children.
22 And straight away he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, till he had sent the people away.
Immediately afterwards Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and cross over in advance of him, while he dismissed the crowds.
23 And after he had sent the people away, he went up into the mountain by himself for prayer: and when evening was come, he was there by himself.
After dismissing the crowds, he went up the hill by himself to pray; and, when evening fell, he was there alone.
24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, and was troubled by the waves: for the wind was against them.
The boat was by this time some miles from shore, labouring in the waves, for the wind was against her.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
Three hours after midnight, however, Jesus came towards the disciples, walking on the water.
26 And when they saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they gave cries of fear.
But, when they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost,’ they exclaimed, and cried out in fear.
27 But straight away Jesus said to them, Take heart; it is I, have no fear.
But Jesus at once spoke to them. ‘Courage!’ he said, ‘It is I; do not be afraid!’
28 And Peter, answering, said to him, Lord, if it is you, give me the order to come to you on the water.
‘Master,’ Peter exclaimed, ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.’
29 And he said, Come. And Peter got out of the boat, and walking on the water, went to Jesus.
Jesus said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got down from the boat, and walked on the water, and went towards Jesus;
30 But when he saw the wind he was in fear and, starting to go down, he gave a cry, saying, Help, Lord.
but, when he felt the wind, he was frightened, and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Master! Save me!’
31 And straight away Jesus put out his hand and took a grip of him, and said to him, O man of little faith, why were you in doubt?
Instantly Jesus stretched out his hand, and caught hold of him. ‘You of little faith!’ he said, ‘Why did you falter?’
32 And when they had got into the boat, the wind went down.
When they had got into the boat, the wind dropped.
33 And those who were in the boat gave him worship, saying, Truly you are the Son of God.
But the men in the boat threw themselves on their faces before him, and said, ‘You are indeed God’s Son.’
34 And when they had gone across, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.
35 And when the men of that place had news of him, they sent into all the country round about, and took to him all who were ill,
But the people of that place, recognising Jesus, sent out to the whole country round, and brought to him all who were ill,
36 With the request that they might only put their hands on the edge of his robe: and all those who did so were made well.
begging him merely to let them touch the tassel of his cloak; and all who touched were made perfectly well.
