Mar 6 | ESV | STEP | He went away from there and came to his hometown , and his disciples followed him .

1 ^aHe went away from there and came to ^bhis hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And ^con the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^dmany who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 ^eIs not this ^fthe carpenter, the son of Mary and ^gbrother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^hthey took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, ⁱ“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And ^jhe could do no mighty work there, except that ^khe laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And ^lhe marveled because of their unbelief.

^mAnd he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

7 ⁿAnd he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to ^owear sandals and not put on two tunics. ^{▼▼Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin} 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^qshake off the dust that is on your feet ^ras a testimony against them.” 12 ^sSo they went out and ^tproclaimed ^uthat people should repent. 13 ^vAnd they cast out many demons and ^wanointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^xKing Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ ^{▼▼Greek his} name had become known. Some ^{▼▼Some manuscripts He} said, ^aa“John the Baptist ^{▼▼Greek baptizer; also verse 24} has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 ^acBut others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^ada prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 ^aeFor it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^afbound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 ^agFor John had been saying to Herod, ^ah“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod ^aifeared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^ajheard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity came when Herod ^akon his birthday ^algave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^amup to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s ^{▼▼Greek his} head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his ^aodisciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30 ^ap, ^aqThe apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and ^arthey had no leisure even to eat. 32 ^asAnd they went away in ^atthe boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and ^aurecognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he ^avsaw a great crowd, and ^awhe had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 ^axSend them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, ^ay“You give them something to eat.” And ^azthey said to him, ^ba“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii ^{▼▼A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer} worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, ^bc“Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he ^bdlooked up to heaven and ^besaid a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45 ^bfImmediately he ^bgmade his disciples get into ^bhthe boat and go before him to the other side, ^bito Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, ^bjhe went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when ^bkevening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^blthe fourth watch of the night ^{▼▼That is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.} he came to them, walking on the sea. ^bnHe meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and ^bowere terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^bp“Take heart; it is I. ^bqDo not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for ^brthey did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^bswere hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

53 ^btWhen they had crossed over, they came to land at ^buGennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately ^bvrecognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring ^bwthe sick people ^bxon their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, ^bythey laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even ^bzthe fringe of his garment. And ^caas many as touched it were made well.