Knox Bible

1

Then he left the place, and withdrew to his own country-side, his disciples following him.

2

Here, when the sabbath came, he began teaching in the synagogue, and many were astonished when they heard him; How did he come by all this? they asked. What is the meaning of this wisdom that has been given him, of all these wonderful works that are done by his hands?

3

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Do not his sisters live here near us? And they had no confidence in him.

4

Then Jesus said to them, It is only in his own country, in his own home, and among his own kindred, that a prophet goes unhonoured.

5

Nor could he do any wonderful works there, except that he laid his hands on a few who were sick, and cured them;

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he was astonished at their unbelief. And so he went on round about the villages preaching.✻

7

And now he called the twelve to him, and began sending them out, two and two, giving them authority over the unclean spirits.

8

And he gave them instructions to take a staff for their journey and nothing more; no wallet, no bread, no money for their purses;

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to be shod with sandals, and not to wear a second coat.

10

You are to lodge, he told them, in the house you first enter, until you leave the place.

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And wherever they give you no welcome and no hearing, shake off the dust from beneath your feet in witness against them.

12

So they went out and preached, bidding men repent;

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they cast out many devils, and many who were sick they anointed with oil, and healed them.✻

14

Then, as his name grew better known, king Herod came to hear of it. It is John the Baptist, he said, risen from the dead, and that is why these powers are active in him.

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Others were saying, It is Elias, and others, It is a prophet like one of the old prophets;

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but when Herod was told it, he declared, He has risen from the dead, John the Baptist, whom I beheaded.

17

Herod himself had sent and arrested John and put him in prison, in chains, for love of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married;

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because John had told Herod, It is wrong for thee to take thy brother’s wife.

19

Herodias was always plotting against him, and would willingly have murdered him, but could not,

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because Herod was afraid of John, recognizing him for an upright and holy man; so that he kept him carefully, and followed his advice in many things,✻ and was glad to listen to him.

21

And now came a fitting occasion, upon which Herod gave a birthday feast to his lords and officers, and to the chief men of Galilee.

22

Herodias’ own daughter came in and danced, and gave such pleasure to Herod and his guests that the king said to the girl, Ask me for whatever thou wilt, and thou shalt have it;

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he even bound himself by an oath, I will grant whatever request thou makest, though it were a half of my kingdom.

24

Thereupon she went out and said to her mother, What shall I ask for? And she answered, The head of John the Baptist.

25

With that, she hastened into the king’s presence and made her request; My will is, she said, that thou shouldst give me the head of John the Baptist; give it me now, on a dish.

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And the king was full of remorse, but out of respect to his oath and to those who sat with him at table, he would not disappoint her.

27

So he sent one of his guard with orders that the head should be brought on a dish.

28

This soldier cut off his head in the prison, and brought it on a dish, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

29

When John’s disciples heard of it, they came and carried off his body, and laid it in a tomb.

30

And now the apostles came together again in the presence of Jesus, and told him of all they had done, and all the teaching they had given.✻

31

And he said to them, Come away into a quiet place by yourselves, and rest a little. For there were many coming and going, and they scarcely had leisure even to eat.

32

So they took ship, and went to a lonely place by themselves.

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But many saw them going, or came to know of it; gathering from all the cities, they hurried to the place by land, and were there before them.

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So, when he disembarked, Jesus saw a great multitude there, and took pity on them, since they were like sheep that have no shepherd, and began to give them long instruction.

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And when it was already late, his disciples came to him and said, This is a lonely place, and it is late already;

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give them leave to go to the farms and villages round about, and buy themselves food there; they have nothing to eat.

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But he answered them, It is for you to give them food to eat. Why then, they said to him, we must go and spend two hundred silver pieces buying bread to feed them.

38

He asked, How many loaves have you? Go and see. When they had found out, they told him, Five, and two fishes.

39

Then he told them all to sit down in companies on the green grass;

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and they took their places in rows, by hundreds and fifties.

41

And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave these to his disciples to set before them, dividing the fishes, too, among them all.

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All ate and had enough:

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and when they took up the broken pieces, and what was left of the fishes, they filled twelve baskets with them.

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The loaves had fed five thousand men.✻

45

As soon as this was done, he prevailed upon his disciples to take ship and cross to Bethsaida, on the other side, before him, leaving him to send the multitude home.

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And when he had taken leave of them, he went up on to the hill-side, to pray there.

47

Twilight had already come, and the boat was half way across the sea, while he was on the shore alone.

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And when the night had reached its fourth quarter, seeing them hard put to it with rowing (for the wind was against them), he came to them, walking on the sea, and made as if to pass them by.

49

When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was an apparition, and cried aloud,

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for all had seen him, and were full of dismay. But now he spoke to them; Take courage, he said, it is myself; do not be afraid.

51

So he came to them on board the boat, and thereupon the wind dropped. And they were astonished out of all measure;

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they had not grasped the lesson of the loaves, so dulled were their hearts.

53

When they had crossed, they came to shore at Genesareth and moored there.

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As soon as they had disembarked, he was recognized,

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and they ran off into all the country round, and began bringing the sick after him, beds and all, wherever they heard he was.

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And wherever he entered villages, or farmsteads, or towns, they used to lay the sick down in the open streets, and beg him to let them touch even the hem of his cloak; and all those who touched him recovered.✻