Open English Translation MAT Chapter 14

14 Around that time, King Herod the Tetrarch heard the news about Yeshua 2 and he said to his slaves, “This must be Yohan-the-immerser having come back from the dead and so that’s why he can do all these miracles!”

3 [ref]Herod said this because he had previously had Yohan arrested and put in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 Yohan had been saying that it was against God’s law for Herod to take his brother’s wife. 5 Herod had been wanting to have Yohan executed, but he was afraid of the crowd because they considered Yohan to be a prophet.

6 However at Herod’s birthday celebration, Herodias’ daughter had danced in the middle of them all and had pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her anything that she requested.

8 The young woman was urged on by her mother to tell Herod that she wanted the head of Yohan-the-immerser on a plate.

9 The king was upset, but because of his oaths in front of the other guests, he commanded it to be so 10 and sent his soldiers to behead Yohan in prison. 11 So then his head was brought in on a plate and given to the young woman who then took it to her mother. 12 Hearing the news, Yohan’s followers went to the prison and collected his body and buried it. Then they went and told Yeshua.

13 When Yeshua heard what had happened to Yohan, he got a boat to take him to a quiet place by himself, but the crowds from the cities heard about it, and followed him around the shore of the lake on foot. 14 So when he got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd of people and he felt compassion towards them, and he healed the sick people that they had brought.

15 As evening was approaching, his followers came up and asked, “This place is quite isolated and it’s already late. Send the people back into the villages so they can buy themselves something to eat.”

16 “Oh, there’s no need to send them away,” Yeshua answered. “you all give them something to eat.”

17 “We don’t have anything here” they responded, “except for five buns and two cooked fish.”

18 “Bring them here to me,” Yeshua instructed, 19 then he told the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five buns and two fish and looking up to the sky, he blessed God/the food/the people???, broke the buns and gave the pieces to his apprentices to distribute to the crowds. 20 Everyone there ate enough to be full, and then the apprentices picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread. 21 There were about five thousand families there.

22 Straight after that, Yeshua instructed his apprentices to board the boat and to head back to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds. 23 He sent them all back to their homes, then climbed up a hill by himself to pray. 24 By then the boat was in the middle of the lake, but it was being beaten by the waves because a strong wind had come up.

25 In the early hours of the morning, Yeshua went out to them on the lake, walking on the surface. 26 When his apprentices saw him coming over the lake, they were worried thinking it was a ghost and yelling out in fear.

27 But Yeshua answered them immediately saying, “Be brave, I’m here, don’t worry.”

28 “Master,” called Peter, “if it’s you, command me to come to you on the lake.”

29 “Come!” he said. So Peter climbed over the back of the boat and started walking across the lake towards Yeshua, 30 but when he looked around at the wind, he lost his nerve and started sinking and yelled out, “Master, save me!” 31 Immediately Yeshua stretched out his hand and took hold of Peter and said to him, “Your faith is weak because why did you doubt?”

32 Then as soon as the two of them climbed into the boat, the wind died down 33 and everyone in the boat knelt down in front of Yeshua saying, “You certainly must be God’s son!”

34 So then they finished crossing the lake and got out at Gennesaret. 35 The people there recognised Yeshua and sent news to all the surrounding region. So the people brought all their sick relatives to him 36 and begged him even to just let them touch the edge of his robe because everyone who did that was healed.