2 Kings 7:2

7:2 An officer who was the king’s right-hand man ¹  responded to the prophet, ²  “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ³  Elisha ⁴  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ⁵ 

Matthew 15:33

15:33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?”

Mark 6:37

6:37 But he answered them, ⁶  “You ⁷  give them something to eat.” And they said, “Should we go and buy bread for two hundred silver coins ⁸  and give it to them to eat?”

Mark 8:4

8:4 His disciples answered him, “Where can someone get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”

Luke 1:18

1:18 Zechariah ⁹  said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? ¹⁰  For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” ¹¹ 

Luke 1:34

1:34 Mary ¹²  said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with ¹³  a man?”

John 6:6-7

6:6 (Now Jesus ¹⁴  said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) ¹⁵  6:7 Philip replied, ¹⁶  “Two hundred silver coins worth ¹⁷  of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.”

John 6:9

6:9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good ¹⁸  are these for so many people?”

¹ tn Heb “the officer on whose hand the king leans.”

² tn Heb “man of God.”

³ tn Heb “the Lord was making holes in the sky, could this thing be?” Opening holes in the sky would allow the waters stored up there to pour to the earth and assure a good crop. But, the officer argues, even if this were to happen, it would take a long time to grow and harvest the crop.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”

⁶ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the sentence has been changed for clarity.

⁷ tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

⁸ sn The silver coin referred to here is the denarius. A denarius, inscribed with a picture of Tiberius Caesar, was worth approximately one day’s wage for a laborer. Two hundred denarii was thus approximately equal to eight months’ wages. The disciples did not have the resources in their possession to feed the large crowd, so Jesus’ request is his way of causing them to trust him as part of their growth in discipleship.

⁹ tn Grk “And Zechariah.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁰ tn Grk “How will I know this?”

¹¹ tn Grk “is advanced in days” (an idiom for old age).

¹² tn Grk “And Mary.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹³ tn Grk “have not known.” The expression in the Greek text is a euphemism for sexual relations. Mary seems to have sensed that the declaration had an element of immediacy to it that excluded Joseph. Many modern translations render this phrase “since I am a virgin,” but the Greek word for virgin is not used in the text, and the euphemistic expression is really more explicit, referring specifically to sexual relations.

¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

¹⁶ tn Grk “Philip answered him.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “two hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about eight months’ pay.

¹⁸ tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.