1 At that time news of Jesus came to Herod the king;

2 And he said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he has come back from the dead, and so these powers are working in him.

3 For Herod had taken John and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

4 Because John had said to him, It is not right for you to have her.

5 And he would have put him to death, but for his fear of the people, because in their eyes John was a prophet.

6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias was dancing before them, and Herod was pleased with her.

7 So he gave her his word with an oath to let her have whatever she might make request for.

8 And she, at her mother's suggestion, said, Give me here on a plate the head of John the Baptist.

9 And the king was sad; but because of his oaths and because of his guests, he gave the order for it to be given to her;

10 And he sent and had John's head cut off in the prison.

11 And his head was put on a plate and given to the girl; and she took it to her mother.

12 And his disciples came, and took up his body and put it in the earth; and they went and gave Jesus news of what had taken place.

13 Now when it came to the ears of Jesus, he went away from there in a boat, to a waste place by himself: and the people hearing of it, went after him on foot from the towns.

14 And he came out and saw a great number of people and he had pity on them, and made well those of them who were ill.

15 And when evening had come, the disciples came to him, saying, This place is waste land, and the time is now past; send the people away so that they may go into the towns and get themselves food.

16 But Jesus said to them, There is no need for them to go away; give them food yourselves.

17 And they say to him, We have here but five cakes of bread and two fishes.

18 And he said, Give them to me.

19 And he gave orders for the people to be seated on the grass; and he took the five cakes of bread and the two fishes and, looking up to heaven, he said words of blessing, and made division of the food, and gave it to the disciples, and the disciples gave it to the people.

20 And they all took of the food and had enough: and they took up twelve baskets full of broken bits which were not used.

21 And those who had food were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.

22 And straight away he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, till he had sent the people away.

23 And after he had sent the people away, he went up into the mountain by himself for prayer: and when evening was come, he was there by himself.

24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, and was troubled by the waves: for the wind was against them.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.

26 And when they saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they gave cries of fear.

27 But straight away Jesus said to them, Take heart; it is I, have no fear.

28 And Peter, answering, said to him, Lord, if it is you, give me the order to come to you on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And Peter got out of the boat, and walking on the water, went to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind he was in fear and, starting to go down, he gave a cry, saying, Help, Lord.

31 And straight away Jesus put out his hand and took a grip of him, and said to him, O man of little faith, why were you in doubt?

32 And when they had got into the boat, the wind went down.

33 And those who were in the boat gave him worship, saying, Truly you are the Son of God.

34 And when they had gone across, they came to land at Gennesaret.

35 And when the men of that place had news of him, they sent into all the country round about, and took to him all who were ill,

36 With the request that they might only put their hands on the edge of his robe: and all those who did so were made well.

1 Quando o rei Herodes ouviu a fama de Jesus, disse aos seus homens: Este deve ser João Baptista, que voltou à vida. Por isso é que faz tais milagres.a

3 Com efeito Herodes tinha prendido João, acorrentando-o no cárcere por causa de Herodias, que era mulher de seu irmão Filipe; visto que João tinha dito que não lhe era lícito tomá-la por mulher

5 Por sua vontade, teria matado João, mas receava que houvesse tumultos, pois o povo inteiro tinha João na conta de profeta.

6 Todavia, numa festa de anos de Herodes, a filha de Herodias deu-lhe grande agrado pela forma como dançou. Então jurou dar-lhe o que ela quisesse. Ouvindo isto, a jovem, incitada pela mãe, pediu a cabeça de João Baptista numa bandeja!´

9 O rei ficou afligido, mas, por causa do juramento que fizera, não quis voltar com a palavra atrás na presença dos convidados, e deu as ordens necessárias.

10 Assim João foi degolado no cárcere e a sua cabeça trazida numa bandeja e entregue à jovem, que a levou à mãe

12 Os discípulos de João foram pedir o corpo e sepultaram-no, contando a Jesus o sucedido.

13 Depois de ter recebido a notícia, Jesus saiu sozinho num barco para uma região deserta, a fim de ficar a sós. Mas o povo, vendo para onde ele se havia dirigido, seguiu-o por terra, vindo de muitas vilas

14 Quando saiu do barco, Jesus viu aquela grande multidão à sua espera e, com dó deles, curou os que estavam doentes.

15 Ao cair da tarde, os discípulos foram ter com ele e disseram-lhe: Já é tarde, e aqui neste local isolado não há nada que se coma; manda este povo retirar-se para que possa ir às povoações comprar alimento.

16 Jesus, porém, respondeu: Não é preciso; alimentem-no vocês!

17 Mas como? Temos só cinco pãezinhos e dois peixes!

18 Tragam-me isso aqui, disse Jesus.

19 Então mandou o povo sentar-se sobre a erva e, pegando nos cinco pães e dois peixes, levantou os olhos para o céu, pedindo a bênção de Deus para aquela refeição; depois partiu os pães e deu-os aos discípulos para que os levassem ao povo. Todos comeram até ficarem satisfeitos. Quando os restos foram recolhidos, as sobras enchiam doze cestos! Nesse dia, a multidão era de uns cinco mil homens, não falando em mulheres e crianças.

22 Logo depois disto, disse aos discípulos que entrassem para o barco deles e atravessassem para a outra margem do lago, enquanto ele ficaria ali com o povo até que partissem para as suas casas. Feito isto, subiu à montanha para orar. Caiu a noite; mas no lago os discípulos tinham dificuldades, pois tinha-se levantado vento e o mar estava bravo.

25 Cerca das quatro horas da madrugada, Jesus foi ter com eles, caminhando sobre a água! Assustados, puseram-se a gritar, julgando ser algum fantasma. Mas Jesus logo lhes falou e os acalmou: Não tenham medo!

28 Então Pedro gritou-lhe: Senhor, se realmente és tu, manda-me ir ter contigo caminhando sobre a água.

29 Vem, disse Jesus. Pedro saiu pela borda do barco e caminhou por cima da água em direcção a Jesus. Mas, olhando em torno, sentindo o vento forte, ficou apavorado e começou a afundar-se: Senhor, salva-me!

31 Logo Jesus lhe estendeu a mão e o socorreu: Homem de pouca fé, porque duvidaste?

32 Quando subiram para o barco, o vento cessou. Os outros ficaram cheios de espanto: Realmente, és o Filho de Deus!

34 E aportaram a Genezaré. A notícia da sua chegada depressa se espalhou por todos os arredores, e em breve as pessoas estavam a trazer todos os seus doentes para serem curados. Os doentes pediam-lhe muito que os deixasse tocar nem que fosse na borda da sua roupa, e todos os que assim faziam ficavam bons.