Mark 6:38

6:38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five – and two fish.”

Matthew 14:15-17

14:15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place 1  and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 14:16 But he 2  replied, “They don’t need to go. You 3  give them something to eat.” 14:17 They 4  said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

Matthew 15:34

15:34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven – and a few small fish.”

Luke 9:13

9:13 But he said to them, “You 5  give them something to eat.” They 6  replied, 7  “We have no more than five loaves and two fish – unless 8  we go 9  and buy food 10  for all these people.”

1 tn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).

2 tc ‡ The majority of witnesses read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) here, perhaps to clarify the subject. Although only a few Greek mss, along with several versional witnesses (א* D Zvid 579 1424 pc e k sys,c,p sa bo), lack the name of Jesus, the omission does not seem to be either accidental or malicious and is therefore judged to be most likely the original reading. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult. NA27 has the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

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

4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

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

6 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

7 tn Grk “said.”

8 tn This possibility is introduced through a conditional clause, but it is expressed with some skepticism (BDF §376).

9 tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

10 sn Not only would going and buying food have been expensive and awkward at this late time of day, it would have taken quite a logistical effort to get the food back out to this isolated location.