John 6:11-13

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, ¹  as much as they wanted. 6:12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus ²  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 ³  left over by the people who had eaten.

John 6:27

6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ⁴  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ⁵  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ⁶ 

John 6:32-35

6:32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁷  it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 6:33 For the bread of God is the one who ⁸  comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 6:34 So they said to him, “Sir, ⁹  give us this bread all the time!”

6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty. ¹⁰ 

John 6:47-58

6:47 I tell you the solemn truth, ¹¹  the one who believes ¹²  has eternal life. ¹³  6:48 I am the bread of life. ¹⁴  6:49 Your ancestors ¹⁵  ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 6:50 This ¹⁶  is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person ¹⁷  may eat from it and not die. 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread ¹⁸  that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

6:52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus ¹⁹  began to argue with one another, ²⁰  “How can this man ²¹  give us his flesh to eat?” 6:53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ²²  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ²³  you have no life ²⁴  in yourselves. 6:54 The one who eats ²⁵  my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ²⁶  6:55 For my flesh is true ²⁷  food, and my blood is true ²⁸  drink. 6:56 The one who eats ²⁹  my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. ³⁰  6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes ³¹  me will live because of me. 6:58 This ³²  is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ³³  ate, but then later died. ³⁴  The one who eats ³⁵  this bread will live forever.”

[6:11]  ¹ tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”

[6:12]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:13]  ³ 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.

[6:27]  ⁴ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  ⁵ tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ⁶ tn Grk “on this one.”

[6:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:33]  ⁸ tn Or “he who.”

[6:34]  ⁹ tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage it is not at all clear at this point that the crowd is acknowledging Jesus as Lord. More likely this is simply a form of polite address (“sir”).

[6:35]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the one who believes in me will not possibly thirst, ever.”

[6:47]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:47]  ¹² tc Most witnesses (A C² D Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat and other versions) have “in me” (εἰς ἐμέ, eis eme) here, while the Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac versions read “in God.” These clarifying readings are predictable variants, being motivated by the scribal tendency toward greater explicitness. That the earliest and best witnesses (Ì^66,75vid א B C* L T W Θ 892 pc) lack any object is solid testimony to the shorter text’s authenticity.

[6:47]  ¹³ tn Compare John 6:40.

[6:48]  ¹⁴ tn That is, “the bread that produces (eternal) life.”

[6:49]  ¹⁵ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:50]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Here.”

[6:50]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “someone” (τις, tis).

[6:51]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And the bread.”

[6:52]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Then the Jews began to argue.” Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). See also the note on the phrase “the Jews who were hostile to Jesus” in v. 41.

[6:52]  ²⁰ tn Grk “with one another, saying.”

[6:52]  ²¹ tn Grk “this one,” “this person.”

[6:53]  ²² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:53]  ²³ sn Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. These words are at the heart of the discourse on the Bread of Life, and have created great misunderstanding among interpreters. Anyone who is inclined toward a sacramental viewpoint will almost certainly want to take these words as a reference to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, because of the reference to eating and drinking. But this does not automatically follow: By anyone’s definition there must be a symbolic element to the eating which Jesus speaks of in the discourse, and once this is admitted, it is better to understand it here, as in the previous references in the passage, to a personal receiving of (or appropriation of) Christ and his work.

[6:53]  ²⁴ tn That is, “no eternal life” (as opposed to physical life).

[6:54]  ²⁵ tn Or “who chews”; Grk ὁ τρώγων (Jo trwgwn). The alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) may simply reflect a preference for one form over the other on the author’s part, rather than an attempt to express a slightly more graphic meaning. If there is a difference, however, the word used here (τρώγω) is the more graphic and vivid of the two (“gnaw” or “chew”).

[6:54]  ²⁶ sn Notice that here the result (has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day) is produced by eating (Jesus’) flesh and drinking his blood. Compare John 6:40 where the same result is produced by “looking on the Son and believing in him.” This suggests that the phrase here (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood by the phrase in 6:40 (looks on the Son and believes in him).

[6:55]  ²⁷ tn Or “real.”

[6:55]  ²⁸ tn Or “real.”

[6:56]  ²⁹ tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.

[6:56]  ³⁰ sn Resides in me, and I in him. Note how in John 6:54 eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood produces eternal life and the promise of resurrection at the last day. Here the same process of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood leads to a relationship of mutual indwelling (resides in me, and I in him). This suggests strongly that for the author (and for Jesus) the concepts of ‘possessing eternal life’ and of ‘residing in Jesus’ are virtually interchangeable.

[6:57]  ³¹ tn Or “who chews”; Grk “who eats.” Here the translation “consumes” is more appropriate than simply “eats,” because it is the internalization of Jesus by the individual that is in view. On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.

[6:58]  ³² tn Or “This one.”

[6:58]  ³³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:58]  ³⁴ tn Grk “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not just like your ancestors ate and died.” The cryptic Greek expression has been filled out in the translation for clarity.

[6:58]  ³⁵ tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.