New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus;
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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 been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him."
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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 arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,
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For Herod had taken John and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.
4 because John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
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Because John had said to him, It is not right for you to have her.
5 Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet.
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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 danced before the company, and she pleased Herod
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But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias was dancing before them, and Herod was pleased with her.
7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask.
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So he gave her his word with an oath to let her have whatever she might make request for.
8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter."
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And she, at her mother's suggestion, said, Give me here on a plate the head of John the Baptist.
9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given;
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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 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
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And he sent and had John's head cut off in the prison.
11 The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother.
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And his head was put on a plate and given to the girl; and she took it to her mother.
12 His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.
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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 Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
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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 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
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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 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."
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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 Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
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But Jesus said to them, There is no need for them to go away; give them food yourselves.
17 They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."
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And they say to him, We have here but five cakes of bread and two fishes.
18 And he said, "Bring them here to me."
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And he said, Give them to me.
19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
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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 all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.
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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 ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
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And those who had food were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
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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 dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
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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 by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.
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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 early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.
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And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.
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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 immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."
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But straight away Jesus said to them, Take heart; it is I, have no fear.
28 Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
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And Peter, answering, said to him, Lord, if it is you, give me the order to come to you on the water.
29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.
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And he said, Come. And Peter got out of the boat, and walking on the water, went to Jesus.
30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
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But when he saw the wind he was in fear and, starting to go down, he gave a cry, saying, Help, Lord.
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
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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 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
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And when they had got into the boat, the wind went down.
33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
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And those who were in the boat gave him worship, saying, Truly you are the Son of God.
34 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
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And when they had gone across, they came to land at Gennesaret.
35 After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him,
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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 and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
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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.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.