King James Version · Under Rome
Matthew 14
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At that time heard of the fame of , And said unto his servants, This is ; he is from ; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. For had laid hold on , and bound him, and put him in prison for ’ sake, his brother ’s wife. For said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to , he feared , because they counted him as a . But when ’s birthday was kept, the daughter of danced before them, and pleased . Whereupon he promised with an to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here Baptist’s head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the ’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told . When heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. And went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was toward them, and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his came to him, saying, This is a place, and the time is now past; send away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. 18He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to , he , and brake, and gave the loaves to his , and to . And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. And straightway constrained his to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the away. And when he had sent the away, he went up into a mountain apart to : and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night went unto them, walking on the sea. And when saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ; and they cried out for fear. But straightway spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And answered him and said, , if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to . But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, , me. And immediately stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little , wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of . And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; And besought him that they might only touch the of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.