Matthew 14:15

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.”

Luke 9:13

9:13 But he said to them, “You ²  give them something to eat.” They ³  replied, ⁴  “We have no more than five loaves and two fish – unless ⁵  we go ⁶  and buy food ⁷  for all these people.”

John 6:8-9

6:8 One of Jesus’ disciples, ⁸  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 ⁹  are these for so many people?”

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

² tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁴ tn Grk “said.”

⁵ tn This possibility is introduced through a conditional clause, but it is expressed with some skepticism (BDF §376).

⁶ tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn Grk “one of his disciples.”

⁹ tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.