1 Leaving there he went to his native place, followed by his disciples.
2 When the sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and the large audience was astounded. "Where did he get all this?" they said. "What is the meaning of this wisdom he is endowed with? And these miracles, too, that his hands perform!
3 Is this not the joiner, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters settled here among us?" So they were repelled by him.
4 Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet never goes without honour except in his native place and among his kinsfolk and in his home."
5 There he could not do any miracle, beyond laying his hands on a few sick people and curing them.
6 He was astonished at their lack of faith. Then he made a tour round the villages, teaching.
7 And summoning the twelve he proceeded to send them out two by two; he gave them power over the unclean spirits,
8 and ordered them to take nothing but a stick for the journey, no bread, no wallet, no coppers in their girdle;
9 they were to wear sandals, but not to put on two shirts, he said.
10 Also, he told them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there till you leave the place.
11 And if any place will not receive you and the people will not listen to you, shake off the very dust under your feet when you leave, as a warning to them."
12 So they went out and preached repentance;
13 also they cast out a number of daemons and cured a number of sick people by anointing them with oil.
14 Now this came to the hearing of king Herod, for the name of Jesus had become well known; people said, "John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, that is why miraculous powers are working through him;"
15 others said, "It is Elijah," others again, "It is a prophet, like one of the old prophets."
16 But when Herod heard of it he said, "John has risen, the John I beheaded."
17 For this Herod had sent and arrested John and bound him in prison on account of his marriage to Herodias the wife of his brother Philip;
18 John had told Herod, "You have no right to your brother's wife."
19 Herodias had a grudge against him; she wanted him killed but she could not manage it,
20 for Herod stood in awe of John, knowing he was a just and holy man; so he protected John ??he was greatly exercised when he listened to him, still he was glad to listen to him.
21 Then came a holiday, when Herod held a feast on his birthday for his chief officials and generals and the notables of Galilee.
22 The daughter of Herodias went in and danced to them, and Herod and his guests were so delighted that the king said to the girl, "Ask anything you like and I will give you it."
23 He swore to her, "I will give you whatever you want, were it the half of my realm."
24 So she went out and said to her mother, "What am I to ask?" "John the Baptizer's head," she answered.
25 Then she hurried in at once and asked the king, saying, "I want you to give me this very moment John the Baptist's head on a dish."
26 The king was very vexed, but for the sake of his oaths and his guests he did not like to disappoint her;
27 so the king at once sent one of the guard with orders to bring his head. The man went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 brought his head on a dish, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.
29 When his disciples heard of it they went and fetched his body and laid it in a tomb.
30 Now the apostles gathered to meet Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.
31 And he said to them, "Come away to some lonely spot and get a little rest" (for there were many people coming and going, and they could get no time even to eat).
32 So they went away privately in the boat to a lonely spot.
33 However a number of people who saw them start and recognized them, got to the place before them by hurrying there on foot from all the towns.
34 So when Jesus disembarked he saw a large crowd, and out of pity for them, as they were like sheep without a shepherd, he proceeded to teach them at length.
35 Then, as the day was far gone, his disciples came up to him, saying, "It is a desert place and the day is now far gone;
36 send them off to the farms and villages round about to buy some food for themselves."
37 He replied, "Give them some food, yourselves." They said, "Are we to go and buy ten pounds' worth of food and give them that to eat?"
38 He said, "How many loaves have you got? Go and see." When they found out they told him, "Five, and two fish."
39 Then he gave orders that they were to make all the people lie down in parties on the green grass;
40 so they arranged themselves in groups of a hundred and of fifty;
41 and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he blessed them, broke the loaves in pieces which he handed to the disciples to set before them, and divided the two fish among them all.
42 They all ate and had enough;
43 besides, the fragments of bread and of fish which were picked up filled twelve baskets.
44 (The number of men who ate the loaves was five thousand.)
45 Then he made the disciples at once embark in the boat and cross before him towards Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd;
46 and after saying goodbye to them he went up the hill to pray.
47 Now when evening came the boat was [far out] in the middle of the sea, and he was on the land alone;
48 but when he saw them buffeted as they rowed (for the wind was against them) he went to them about the fourth watch of the night walking on the sea. He meant to pass them,
49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost and shrieked aloud ??50 for they all saw him and were terrified. Then he spoke to them at once; "Courage," he said, "it is I, have no fear."
51 And he got into the boat beside them, and the wind dropped. They were utterly astounded,
52 for they had not understood the lesson of the loaves; their minds were dull.
53 On crossing over they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore.
54 And when they had disembarked, the people at once recognized Jesus;
55 they hurried round all the district and proceeded to carry the sick on their pallets wherever they heard that he was;
56 whatever village or town or hamlet he went to, they would lay their invalids in the marketplace, begging him to let them touch even the tassel of his robe ??and all who touched him recovered.