The Death of John the Baptist

1 ^vAt that time ^wHerod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, ^x“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For ^yHerod had seized John and bound him and ^zput him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,¹ 4 because John had been saying to him, ^a“It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, ^bhe feared the people, because they held him to be ^ca prophet. 6 But when Herod’s ^dbirthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so 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 Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And ^ehis disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this, ^fhe withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he ^gsaw a great crowd, and ^ghe had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; ^hsend the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ⁱyou give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^jhe looked up to heaven and ^ksaid a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 ^lImmediately he ^mmade the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, ⁿhe went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When ^oevening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way² from the land,³ beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And ^lin the fourth watch of the night⁴ he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, ^pthey were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^q“Take heart; it is I. ^qDo not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and ^rwalked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,⁵ he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ^s“Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ^t“O you of little faith, why did you ^udoubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, ^sthe wind ceased. 33 And ^vthose in the boat ^wworshiped him, saying, ^x“Truly you are ^ythe Son of God.”

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

34 ^zAnd when they had crossed over, they came to land at ^aGennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and ^bbrought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch ^cthe fringe of his garment. And ^das many as touched it were made well.

Traditions and Commandments

1 ^eThen Pharisees and ^fscribes came to Jesus ^ffrom Jerusalem and said, 2 ^g“Why do your disciples break ^hthe tradition of the elders? ^jFor they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ^k‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^l‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”¹ 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^mmade void the word² of God. 7 ⁿYou hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, ^q“Hear and understand: 11 ^rit is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^soffended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, ^t“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^uwill be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; ^vthey are blind guides.³ And ^wif the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, ^x“Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, ^y“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that ^zwhatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?⁴ 18 But ^awhat comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come ^bevil thoughts, ^cmurder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^dslander. 20 ^eThese are what defile a person. But ^fto eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 ^gAnd Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, ^ha Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ⁱ“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^j“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, ^k“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and ^lknelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ^mthrow it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ⁿthe crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^ogreat is your faith! ^pBe it done for you as you desire.” ^qAnd her daughter was ^phealed instantly.⁵

Jesus Heals Many

29 ^rJesus went on from there and walked ^sbeside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^twent up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^uthe lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 ^vso that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^wthe crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^xthey glorified ^ythe God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 ^zThen Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^a“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^b“Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^chaving given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And ^dthey all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^eMagadan.