1 J esus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him.

2 W hen the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

3 I s not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

4 J esus said to them, “ A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”

5 A nd He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

6 A nd He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching. The Twelve Sent Out

7 A nd He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits;

8 a nd He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt—

9 b ut to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.”

10 A nd He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town.

11 A ny place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.”

12 T hey went out and preached that men should repent.

13 A nd they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them. John’s Fate Recalled

14 A nd King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “ John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”

15 B ut others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “ He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

16 B ut when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

17 F or Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.

18 F or John had been saying to Herod, “ It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

19 H erodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so;

20 f or Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.

21 A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee;

22 a nd when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.”

23 A nd he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.”

24 A nd she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

25 I mmediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

26 A nd although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her.

27 I mmediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison,

28 a nd brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

29 W hen his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

30 T he apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.

31 A nd He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

32 T hey went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. Five Thousand Fed

33 T he people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.

34 W hen Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

35 W hen it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “ This place is desolate and it is already quite late;

36 s end them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37 B ut He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”

38 A nd He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

39 A nd He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass.

40 T hey sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.

41 A nd He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all.

42 T hey all ate and were satisfied,

43 a nd they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish.

44 T here were five thousand men who ate the loaves. Jesus Walks on the Water

45 I mmediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away.

46 A fter bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.

47 W hen it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land.

48 S eeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them.

49 B ut when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out;

50 f or they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “ Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”

51 T hen He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished,

52 f or they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened. Healing at Gennesaret

53 W hen they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore.

54 W hen they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him,

55 a nd ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was.

56 W herever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.