Deborah's Song and Jesus's Authority

1. The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, when Ehud was dead. 2. Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles. 3. The children of Israel cried to Yahweh, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years. 4. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time. 5. She lived under Deborah’s palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6. She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said to him, “Hasn’t Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, ‘Go and lead the way to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7. I will draw to you, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.’” 8. Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9. She said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the journey that you take won’t be for your honor; for Yahweh will sell Sisera into a woman’s hand.” Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10. Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and ten thousand men followed him; and Deborah went up with him. 11. Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh. 12. They told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to Mount Tabor. 13. Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles, to the river Kishon. 14. Deborah said to Barak, “Go; for this is the day in which Yahweh has delivered Sisera into your hand. Hasn’t Yahweh gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15. Yahweh confused Sisera, all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled away on his feet. 16. But Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth of the Gentiles; and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. There was not a man left. 17. However Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18. Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; don’t be afraid.” He came in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19. He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him a drink, and covered him. 20. He said to her, “Stand in the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’” 21. Then Jael Heber’s wife took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he fainted and died. 22. Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek.” He came to her; and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent peg was in his temples. 23. So God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel on that day. 24. The hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. 1. Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, 2. “Because the leaders took the lead in Israel, because the people offered themselves willingly, be blessed, Yahweh! 3. “Hear, you kings! Give ear, you princes! I, even I, will sing to Yahweh. I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel. 4. “Yahweh, when you went out of Seir, when you marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the sky also dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water. 5. The mountains quaked Yahweh’s presence, even Sinai at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 6. “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied. The travelers walked through byways. 7. The rulers ceased in Israel. They ceased until I, Deborah, arose; Until I arose a mother in Israel. 8. They chose new gods. Then war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? 9. My heart is toward the governors of Israel, who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless Yahweh! 10. “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way. 11. Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water, there they will rehearse Yahweh’s righteous acts, the righteous acts of his rule in Israel. “Then Yahweh’s people went down to the gates. 12. ‘Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.’ 13. “Then a remnant of the nobles and the people came down. Yahweh came down for me against the mighty. 14. Those whose root is in Amalek came out of Ephraim, after you, Benjamin, among your peoples. Governors come down out of Machir. Those who handle the marshal’s staff came out of Zebulun. 15. The princes of Issachar were with Deborah. As was Issachar, so was Barak. They rushed into the valley at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben, there were great resolves of heart. 16. Why did you sit among the sheepfolds? To hear the whistling for the flocks? At the watercourses of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. 17. Gilead lived beyond the Jordan. Why did Dan remain in ships? Asher sat still at the haven of the sea, and lived by his creeks. 18. Zebulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the death; Naphtali also, on the high places of the field. 19. “The kings came and fought, then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo. They took no plunder of silver. 20. From the sky the stars fought. From their courses, they fought against Sisera. 21. The river Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. My soul, march on with strength. 22. Then the horse hoofs stamped because of the prancing, the prancing of their strong ones. 23. ‘Curse Meroz,’ said Yahweh’s angel. ‘Curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they didn’t come to help Yahweh, to help Yahweh against the mighty.’ 24. “Jael shall be blessed above women, the wife of Heber the Kenite; blessed shall she be above women in the tent. 25. He asked for water. She gave him milk. She brought him butter in a lordly dish. 26. She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer. With the hammer she struck Sisera. She struck through his head. Yes, she pierced and struck through his temples. 27. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay. At her feet he bowed, he fell. Where he bowed, there he fell down dead. 28. “Through the window she looked out, and cried: Sisera’s mother looked through the lattice. ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why do the wheels of his chariots wait?’ 29. Her wise ladies answered her, Yes, she returned answer to herself, 30. ‘Have they not found, have they not divided the plunder? A lady, two ladies to every man; to Sisera a plunder of dyed garments, a plunder of dyed garments embroidered, of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the plunder?’ 31. “So let all your enemies perish, Yahweh, but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises in its strength.” Then the land had rest forty years. 1. The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight: and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2. The hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made themselves the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds. 3. So it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east came up against them. 4. They encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza. They left no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep, ox, or donkey. 5. For they came up with their livestock and their tents. They came in as locusts for multitude. Both they and their camels were without number; and they came into the land to destroy it. 6. Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried to Yahweh. 7. When the children of Israel cried to Yahweh because of Midian, 8. Yahweh sent a prophet to the children of Israel; and he said to them, “Yahweh says, the God of Israel, ‘I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage. 9. I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land. 10. I said to you, “I am Yahweh your God. You shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not listened to my voice.’” 11. Yahweh’s angel came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12. Yahweh’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!” 13. Gideon said to him, “Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Didn’t Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.” 14. Yahweh looked at him, and said, “Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?” 15. He said to him, “O Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16. Yahweh said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17. He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me. 18. Please don’t go away, until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you.” He said, “I will wait until you come back.” 19. Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it. 20. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” He did so. 21. Then Yahweh’s angel stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up out of the rock, and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then Yahweh’s angel departed out of his sight. 22. Gideon saw that he was Yahweh’s angel; and Gideon said, “Alas, Lord Yahweh! Because I have seen Yahweh’s angel face to face!” 23. Yahweh said to him, “Peace be to you! Don’t be afraid. You shall not die.” 24. Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it “Yahweh is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 25. That same night, Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it. 26. Then build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” 27. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken to him. Because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, but he did it by night. 28. When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built. 29. They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30. Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.” 31. Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has broken down his altar!” 32. Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, “Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.” 33. Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel. 34. But Yahweh’s Spirit came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together to follow him. 35. He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together to follow him. He sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. 36. Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken, 37. behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.” 38. It was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. 39. Gideon said to God, “Don’t let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40. God did so that night; for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

1. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3. But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him; 4. how he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5. Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? 6. But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless. 8. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 9. He departed there, and went into their synagogue. 10. And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” that they might accuse him. 11. He said to them, “What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it, and lift it out? 12. Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” 13. Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. 14. But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him. 15. Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, 16. and commanded them that they should not make him known: 17. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, 18. “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations. 19. He will not strive, nor shout; neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 20. He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory. 21. In his name, the nations will hope.” 22. Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23. All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” 24. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” 25. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27. If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. 29. Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house. 30. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. 31. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come. 33. “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34. You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35. The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. 36. I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” 38. Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39. But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41. The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. 42. The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here. 43. When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. 44. Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came out,’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45. Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.” 46. While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. 47. One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.” 48. But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49. He stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! 50. For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” 1. On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside. 2. Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach. 3. He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow. 4. As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. 5. Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. 6. When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. 7. Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them. 8. Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 10. The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11. He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. 12. For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. 13. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand. 14. In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive: 15. for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again; and I would heal them.’ 16. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17. For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them. 18. “Hear, then, the parable of the farmer. 19. When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside. 20. What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; 21. yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22. What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23. What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.” 24. He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25. but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. 26. But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also. 27. The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’ 28. “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ 29. “But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. 30. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” 31. He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; 32. which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.” 33. He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.” 34. Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, 35. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.” 36. Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.” 37. He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38. the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. 39. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40. As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. 41. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, 42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 43. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 44. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. 45. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46. who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 47. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind, 48. which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49. So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, 50. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” 51. Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.” 52. He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.” 53. When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. 54. Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55. Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56. Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?” 57. They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.” 58. He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. 1. At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, 2. and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” 3. For Herod had laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4. For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5. When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. 6. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. 7. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. 8. She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.” 9. The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths, and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, 10. and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. 11. His head was brought on a platter, and given to the young lady: and she brought it to her mother. 12. His disciples came, and took the body, and buried it; and they went and told Jesus. 13. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. 14. Jesus went out, and he saw a great multitude. He had compassion on them, and healed their sick. 15. When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, “This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.” 16. But Jesus said to them, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17. They told him, “We only have here five loaves and two fish.” 18. He said, “Bring them here to me.” 19. He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20. They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces. 21. Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 22. Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23. After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone. 24. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25. In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. 26. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It’s a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. 27. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.” 28. Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.” 29. He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. 30. But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32. When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased. 33. Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, “You are truly the Son of God!” 34. When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35. When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region, and brought to him all who were sick; 36. and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole.

1. I love Yahweh, because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy. 2. Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3. The cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. 4. Then I called on Yahweh’s name: “Yahweh, I beg you, deliver my soul.” 5. Yahweh is Gracious and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. 6. Yahweh preserves the simple. I was brought low, and he saved me. 7. Return to your rest, my soul, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you. 8. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. 9. I will walk before Yahweh in the land of the living. 10. I believed, therefore I said, “I was greatly afflicted.” 11. I said in my haste, “All men are liars.” 12. What will I give to Yahweh for all his benefits toward me? 13. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on Yahweh’s name. 14. I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people. 15. Precious in Yahweh’s sight is the death of his saints. 16. Yahweh, truly I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your servant. You have freed me from my chains. 17. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on Yahweh’s name. 18. I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people, 19. in the courts of Yahweh’s house, in the middle of you, Jerusalem. Praise Yah!