Matthew 14:1-19

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. 14:19 Then ¹⁹  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, ²⁰  who in turn gave them to the crowds. ²¹ 

[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.

[14:19]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[14:19]  ²⁰ 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.

[14:19]  ²¹ tn Grk “to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.”