Mark 6:38-44

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.” 6:39 Then he directed them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 6:40 So they reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. 6:41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He ¹  gave them to his ²  disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. 6:42 They all ate and were satisfied, 6:43 and they picked up the broken pieces and fish that were left over, twelve baskets full. 6:44 Now ³  there were five thousand men ⁴  who ate the bread. ⁵ 

Matthew 14:17-21

14:17 They ⁶  said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 14:18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied. 14:19 Then ⁷  he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples, ⁸  who in turn gave them to the crowds. ⁹  14:20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full. 14:21 Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate.

Luke 9:12-17

9:12 Now the day began to draw to a close, ¹⁰  so ¹¹  the twelve came and said to Jesus, ¹²  “Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging ¹³  and food, because we are in an isolated place.” ¹⁴  9:13 But he said to them, “You ¹⁵  give them something to eat.” They ¹⁶  replied, ¹⁷  “We have no more than five loaves and two fish – unless ¹⁸  we go ¹⁹  and buy food ²⁰  for all these people.” 9:14 (Now about five thousand men ²¹  were there.) ²²  Then ²³  he said to his disciples, “Have ²⁴  them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 9:15 So they did as Jesus directed, ²⁵  and the people ²⁶  all sat down.

9:16 Then ²⁷  he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks ²⁸  and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 9:17 They all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over ²⁹  was picked up – twelve baskets of broken pieces.

John 6:5-13

6:5 Then Jesus, when he looked up ³⁰  and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6:6 (Now Jesus ³¹  said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) ³²  6:7 Philip replied, ³³  “Two hundred silver coins worth ³⁴  of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 6:8 One of Jesus’ disciples, ³⁵  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 6:9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good ³⁶  are these for so many people?”

6:10 Jesus said, “Have ³⁷  the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) ³⁸  So the men ³⁹  sat down, about five thousand in number. 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, ⁴⁰  as much as they wanted. 6:12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus ⁴¹  said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 6:13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves ⁴²  left over by the people who had eaten.

¹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

² tc ‡ Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ A D W Θ Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy) have αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after τοῖς μαθηταῖς (toi" maqhtai", “the disciples”), but several excellent witnesses (א B L Δ 33 579 892 1241 1424 2427 pc) lack the pronoun. This kind of variant is often a predictable expansion of the text; further, that many important mss lack the pronoun gives support for the shorter reading. For these reasons, the pronoun is considered to be secondary. NA²⁷ puts αὐτοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.

⁴ tn The Greek word here is ἀνήρ, meaning “adult male” (BDAG 79 s.v. 1). According to Matt 14:21, Jesus fed not only five thousand men, but also an unspecified number of women and children.

⁵ tc Many good mss (Ì⁴⁵ א D W Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 700 2542 lat sa) lack τοὺς ἄρτους (tous artous, lit. “the loaves” [here translated “the bread”]). On the other hand, just as weighty mss (A B L 33 2427 Ï) have the words. Although a decision is not easy, the most satisfactory explanation seems to be that scribes were more prone to delete than to add the words here. They may have been puzzled as to why “the bread” should be mentioned without a corresponding mention of “fish.” Since neither Matt 14:21 or Luke 9:17 explicitly mention the bread, a desire for harmonization may have motivated the copyists as well. On the other hand, D and W are prone to longer, explanatory readings. Since they both lack the words here, it is likely that their archetypes also lacked the words. But given Mark’s pleonastic style, the good witnesses with “the bread,” and a reasonable explanation for the omission, “the bread” is most likely part of the original text of Mark.

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

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

⁸ tn Grk “And after instructing the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass, after taking the five loaves and the two fish, after looking up to heaven, he gave thanks, and after breaking the loaves he gave them to the disciples.” Although most of the participles are undoubtedly attendant circumstance, there are but two indicative verbs – “he gave thanks” and “he gave.” The structure of the sentence thus seems to focus on these two actions and has been translated accordingly.

⁹ tn Grk “to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “the day began to decline,” looking to the approach of sunset.

¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ request was related to the approach of sunset.

¹² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn That is, find someone to show them hospitality. L&N 34.61 has “find lodging,” using this verse as an example.

¹⁴ tn Or “in a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation). Here ὧδε (Jwde) has not been translated.

¹⁵ tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁷ tn Grk “said.”

¹⁸ tn This possibility is introduced through a conditional clause, but it is expressed with some skepticism (BDF §376).

¹⁹ tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

²⁰ 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.

²¹ tn The Greek text reads here ἄνδρες (andres) – that is, adult males. The actual count would be larger, since the use of this Greek term suggests that women and children were not included in this number (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).

²² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

²³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²⁴ tn Or “Make” (depending on how the force of the imperative verb is understood). Grk “cause them to recline” (the verb has causative force here).

²⁵ tn Grk “And they did thus.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ action was a result of Jesus’ instructions. The adverb οὕτως ({outw", “thus”) has been expanded in the translation to “as Jesus directed” to clarify what was done.

²⁶ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²⁸ sn Gave thanks adds a note of gratitude to the setting. The scene is like two other later meals: Luke 22:19 and 24:30. Jesus gives thanks to God “with respect to” the provision of food. The disciples learn how Jesus is the mediator of blessing. John 6 speaks of him in this scene as picturing the “Bread of Life.”

²⁹ sn There was more than enough for everybody, as indicated by the gathering of what was left over.

³⁰ tn Grk “when he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

³³ tn Grk “Philip answered him.”

³⁴ 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.

³⁵ tn Grk “one of his disciples.”

³⁶ tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

³⁷ tn Grk “Make.”

³⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author (suggesting an eyewitness recollection).

³⁹ tn Here “men” has been used in the translation because the following number, 5,000, probably included only adult males (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).

⁴⁰ tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”

⁴¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴² sn Note that the fish mentioned previously (in John 6:9) are not emphasized here, only the five barley loaves. This is easy to understand, however, because the bread is of primary importance for the author in view of Jesus’ upcoming discourse on the Bread of Life.