Matthew 14:1-18

The Death of John the Baptist

14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch ¹  heard reports about Jesus, 14:2 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.” 14:3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, ²  and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 14:4 because John had repeatedly told ³  him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁴  14:5 Although ⁵  Herod ⁶  wanted to kill John, ⁷  he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. 14:6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 14:7 so much that he promised with an oath ⁸  to give her whatever she asked. 14:8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 14:9 Although it grieved the king, ⁹  because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 14:10 So ¹⁰  he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 14:11 His ¹¹  head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 14:12 Then John’s ¹²  disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

14:13 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, ¹³  they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴  14:14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 14:15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place ¹⁵  and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 14:16 But he ¹⁶  replied, “They don’t need to go. You ¹⁷  give them something to eat.” 14:17 They ¹⁸  said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 14:18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied.

[14:1]  ¹ sn 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.

[14:3]  ² tc ‡ Most witnesses (א² C D L W Z Θ 0106 Ë^1,13 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.

[14:4]  ³ tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

[14:4]  ⁴ 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.

[14:5]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[14:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:5]  ⁷ 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.

[14:7]  ⁸ tn 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.

[14:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.”

[14:10]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[14:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:12]  ¹² tn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[14:13]  ¹³ 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.

[14:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “cities.”

[14:15]  ¹⁵ tn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).

[14:16]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ 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 Z^vid 579 1424 pc e k sy^s,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.

[14:16]  ¹⁷ tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

[14:17]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.