John the Baptist Beheaded

1At that [†]time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; [†]he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

3For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5And although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they were regarding [†]John as a prophet.

6But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced [†]before them and pleased Herod, 7so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8Now having been prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of [†]his dinner guests. 10And he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12And his disciples came and took away the body and buried [†]it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

13Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself; and when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14And when He went [†]ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

15Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already [†]late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17But they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19And ordering the crowds to [†]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food. And breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. 21And there were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Sea

22Immediately He [†]made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23And after He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24But the boat was already many [†]stadia away from the land, [†]being battered by the waves; for the wind was [†]against them. 25And in the [†]fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26Now when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out [†]in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, [†]it is I; do not be afraid.”

28And Peter answered and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29And He said, “Come!” And getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!”

34And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35And when the men of that place [†]recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; 36and they were pleading with Him that they might just touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were cured.