1 At that time Herod the tetrarchsn A tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title. heard reports about Jesus,

2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.”

3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him,tc ‡ Most witnesses (א2 C D L W Z Θ 0106 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various important witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 pc ff1 h q). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. NA27 includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity. and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

4 because John had repeatedly toldtn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force. him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”sn This marriage of Herod to his brother Philip’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.

5 Althoughtn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. Herodtn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity. wanted to kill John,tn Grk “him” (also in the following phrase, Grk “accepted him”); in both cases the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet.

6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod,

7 so much that he promised with an oathtn The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (Jomologew); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” BDAG (708 s.v. 1) lists “assure, promise with an oath” for certain contexts such as here. to give her whatever she asked.

8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”

9 Although it grieved the king,tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.”sn Herod was technically not a king, but this reflects popular usage. See the note on tetrarch in 14:1. because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given.

10 Sotn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative. he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

11 Histn Grk “And his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity. head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

12 Then John’stn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.” disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it,tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. they followed him on foot from the towns.tn Or “cities.”

14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated placetn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation). and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

16 But hetc ‡ The majority of witnesses read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) here, perhaps to clarify the subject. Although only a few Greek mss, along with several versional witnesses (א* D Zvid 579 1424 pc e k sys,c,p sa bo), lack the name of Jesus, the omission does not seem to be either accidental or malicious and is therefore judged to be most likely the original reading. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult. NA27 has the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity. replied, “They don’t need to go. Youtn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic. give them something to eat.”

17 Theytn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied.

19 Thentn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.” he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples,tn Grk “And after instructing the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass, after taking the five loaves and the two fish, after looking up to heaven, he gave thanks, and after breaking the loaves he gave them to the disciples.” Although most of the participles are undoubtedly attendant circumstance, there are but two indicative verbs – “he gave thanks” and “he gave.” The structure of the sentence thus seems to focus on these two actions and has been translated accordingly. who in turn gave them to the crowds.tn Grk “to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.”

20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full.

21 Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate.

22 Immediately Jesustn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds.

23 And after he sent the crowds away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.

24 Meanwhile the boat, already far from land,tn Grk “The boat was already many stades from the land.” A stade (στάδιον, stadion) was a unit of distance about 607 feet (187 meters) long. was taking a beating from the waves because the wind was against it.

25 As the night was ending,tn Grk “In the fourth watch of the night,” that is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Jesus came to them walking on the sea.tn Or “on the lake.”

26 Whentn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. the disciples saw him walking on the watertn Grk “on the sea”; or “on the lake.” The translation “water” has been used here for stylistic reasons (cf. the same phrase in v. 25). they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out with fear.

27 But immediately Jesustc Most witnesses have ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsous, “Jesus”), while a few lack the words (א* D 073 892 pc ff1 syc sa bo). Although such additions are often suspect (due to liturgical influences, piety, or for the sake of clarity), in this case it is likely that ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς dropped out accidentally. Apart from a few albeit important witnesses, as noted above, the rest of the tradition has either ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς αὐτοῖς (Jo Ihsous autois) or αὐτοῖς ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (autois Jo Ihsous). In uncial letters, with Jesus’ name as a nomen sacrum, this would have been written as autoisois_ or ois_autois. Thus homoioteleuton could explain the reason for the omission of Jesus’ name. spoke to them:tn Grk “he said to them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated. “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

28 Petertn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. said to him,tn Grk “answering him, Peter said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated. “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.”

29 So he said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

30 But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out,tn Grk “he cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated. “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

32 When they went up into the boat, the wind ceased.

33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

34 After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.sn Gennesaret was a fertile plain south of Capernaum (see also Mark 6:53). The Sea of Galilee was also sometimes known as the Sea of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).

35 When the peopletn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2). there recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding area, and they brought all their sick to him.

36 They begged him iftn Grk “asked that they might touch.” they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.