Mark 6:19-41

¹⁹But Herodias held on to anger against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not,

²⁰for Herod feared John; he knew that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. Listening to him made him greatly upset, yet he heard him gladly.

²¹Then the opportunity came when Herod had his birthday and he made a dinner for his officials, and his commanders, and leaders of Galilee.

²²The daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced for them, and she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you.”

²³He swore to her saying, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask him for?” She said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

²⁵She immediately hurried back to the king, and she asked, saying, “I want you to give me, right now, the head of John the Baptist on a wooden platter.”

²⁶Though this deeply grieved the king, he could not refuse her request because of the oath he had made and because of his dinner guests.

²⁷So the king sent a soldier from his guard and commanded him to bring him John's head. The guard went and beheaded him in the prison.

²⁸He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹When his disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.

³¹Then he said to them, “Come away by yourselves into a deserted place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

³²So they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

³³But they saw them leaving and many recognized them, and they ran there together on foot from all the towns, and they arrived there before them.

³⁴When they came ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

³⁵When the hour was late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place and the hour is already late.

³⁶Send them away so that they may go into the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat for themselves.”

³⁷But he answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Can we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”

³⁹He commanded all the people to sit down in groups upon the green grass.

⁴⁰They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

⁴¹He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.