¹Then he went out from there and came to his native country, and his disciples followed him. ²Then, when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many who heard him were astounded, and they said, “Where does this man get these things from? And what is this wisdom which has been given to him, so that such deeds of power take place at his hands? ³Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judah and Simon? And aren't his sisters here with us?” And they were offended because of him. ⁴But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his native land and among his kinsmen and in his own house.” ⁵And he could not do any deeds of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few invalids and healed them. ⁶Indeed he was astonished on account of their unbelief. And he would go round the neighbouring villages teaching. ⁷Then he called the twelve to himself and began to send them out two at a time, and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits, ⁸and he commanded them not to take anything for the journey except just a staff: neither a wallet, nor bread, nor bronze money for their money belt, ⁹but to be shod with sandals, and not to wear two tunics. ¹⁰And he said to them, “Wherever you enter into a house, remain there until you go out from that place. ¹¹And as for whoever does not receive you or hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony to them. Truly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom or Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city.” ¹²Then they went out and preached that one should repent. ¹³And they cast out many demons, and they anointed many infirm with olive oil and cured them. ¹⁴And King Herod heard about it, for his fame had become well-known, and he said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why deeds of power are at work in him.” ¹⁵Others said, “He is Elijah”, whereas yet others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets.” ¹⁶But when Herod heard about it, he said, “John, whom I had beheaded – that's who it is. He has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁷For Herod himself had had John arrested and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. ¹⁸For John had said to Herod, “It is not permitted for you to have the wife of your brother”, ¹⁹and Herodias bore him a grudge, and she wanted to kill him, but she could not. ²⁰For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him, and when he had heard him, he would do many things, and he used to listen to him with pleasure. ²¹But when an opportune day came – when Herod held a dinner on his birthday for his nobles, and the cohort commanders, and the prominent men of Galilee, ²²and the daughter of Herodias herself had come and danced, and she had pleased Herod and those reclining at table with him – the king said to the young girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴Then she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵Then straightaway she came in with haste to the king and made her request, saying, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a dish at once.” ²⁶Now the king, who had become greatly grieved, because of the oaths and the guests at table, did not want to deny her the request. ²⁷So the king immediately sent an executioner with instruction that his head should be brought in. ²⁸And he went off and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a dish and gave it to the young girl, and the young girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹Then when his disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and put it in a tomb. ³⁰And the apostles gathered around Jesus and reported everything to him, both what they had done, and what they had taught. ³¹And he said to them, “You yourselves come privately to a desolate place, and rest a short while.” For those who came and went were many, and they did not even have an opportunity to eat. ³²So they went to a desolate place by boat privately. ³³And people saw them departing, and many recognized him, and they were quick to converge there on foot from all the cities, and they arrived before them and gathered round him. ³⁴Then when Jesus went out, he saw a large crowd and felt compassion for them, because they were like sheep which had no shepherd, and he began to teach them many things, ³⁵and with it already being a late hour, his disciples came up to him and said, “The place is desolate and it is already a late hour. ³⁶Send them away so that they can go off into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves loaves of bread, for they do not have anything to eat.” ³⁷But he answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.” Then they said to him, “Should we go off and buy bread for two hundred denaries and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸At this he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” Then when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹Then he ordered them to have them all recline in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰And they reclined in groups of a hundred, and of fifty. ⁴¹Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and he looked up to heaven and blessed them, and he broke the bread and kept giving it to his disciples to serve to them, and he shared out the two fish for everyone. ⁴²And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³Then they picked up twelve basketsful of pieces, and bits of the fish. ⁴⁴Now those who had eaten the bread amounted to five thousand men. ⁴⁵Then straightaway he made his disciples board the boat and go on ahead, to the far side, to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. ⁴⁶And having bidden them farewell, he went away to a mountain to pray. ⁴⁷Then, when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸And when he saw them being harrowed while rowing (for the wind was against them), he then at about the fourth watch of the night came to them walking on the sea, and he intended to pass by them, ⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a phantom, and they shouted out. ⁵⁰For all of them saw him and were alarmed. Then straightaway he spoke with them and said to them, “Take heart, it is me. Don't be afraid.” ⁵¹And he climbed up into the boat with them, and the wind abated, and they were most exceedingly amazed and astounded within themselves. ⁵²For they had not understood about the bread, for their heart was hardened. ⁵³Then when they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and moored there. ⁵⁴And when they had disembarked from the boat, they immediately recognized him, ⁵⁵and they ran round the whole of that neighbouring region and began to bring those who were ill round on stretchers to where they heard that he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he went – to villages or cities or country places – they placed the sick in the market places, and they pleaded with him to just touch the hem of his cloak. And whoever touched him was cured.