John 6:22-40

6:22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake ¹  realized that only one small boat ²  had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded ³  it with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 6:23 But some boats from Tiberias ⁴  came to shore ⁵  near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ⁶  6:24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats ⁷  and came to Capernaum ⁸  looking for Jesus.

Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life

6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, ⁹  they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ¹⁰  6:26 Jesus replied, ¹¹  “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹²  you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. ¹³  6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ¹⁴  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ¹⁵  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ¹⁶ 

6:28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds ¹⁷  God requires?” ¹⁸  6:29 Jesus replied, ¹⁹  “This is the deed ²⁰  God requires ²¹  – to believe in the one whom he ²²  sent.” 6:30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 6:31 Our ancestors ²³  ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ²⁴ 

6:32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁵  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 ²⁶  comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 6:34 So they said to him, “Sir, ²⁷  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. ²⁸  6:36 But I told you ²⁹  that you have seen me ³⁰  and still do not believe. 6:37 Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away. ³¹  6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 6:39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me – that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up ³²  at the last day. 6:40 For this is the will of my Father – for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up ³³  at the last day.” ³⁴ 

[6:22]  ¹ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:22]  ² tc Most witnesses have after “one” the phrase “which his disciples had entered” (ἐκεῖνο εἰς ὃ ἐνέβησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, ekeino ei" }o enebhsan Joi maqhtai autou) although there are several permutations of this clause ([א* D] Θ [˹³ 33] Ï [sa]). The witnesses that lack this expression are, however, significant and diffused (Ì⁷⁵ א² A B L N W Ψ 1 565 579 1241 al lat). The clarifying nature of the longer reading, the multiple variants from it, and the weighty testimony for the shorter reading all argue against the authenticity of the longer text in any of its variations.

[6:22]  ³ tn Grk “entered.”

[6:23]  ⁴ map For location see Map1 E2; Map2 C2; Map3 C3; Map4 D1; Map5 G4.

[6:23]  ⁵ tn Or “boats from Tiberias landed”; Grk “came.”

[6:23]  ⁶ tc D 091 a e sy^s,c lack the phrase “after the Lord had given thanks” (εὐχαριστήσαντος τοῦ κυρίου, eucaristhsanto" tou kuriou), while almost all the rest of the witnesses ({Ì⁷⁵ א A B L W Θ Ψ 0141 [˹] ˹³ 33 Ï as well as several versions and fathers}) have the words (though {l672 l950 sy^p pbo} read ᾿Ιησοῦ [Ihsou, “Jesus”] instead of κυρίου). Although the shorter reading has minimal support, it is significant that this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and possibly 4:1 (but see tc note on “Jesus” there). There is thus but one undisputed preresurrection text in which the narrator calls Jesus “Lord.” This fact can be utilized on behalf of either reading: The participial phrase could be seen as a scribal addition harking back to 6:11 but which does not fit Johannine style, or it could be viewed as truly authentic and in line with what John indisputably does elsewhere even if rarely. On balance, in light of the overwhelming support for these words it is probably best to retain them in the text.

[6:24]  ⁷ tn Or “embarked in the boats.”

[6:24]  ⁸ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:25]  ⁹ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:25]  ¹⁰ sn John 6:25-31. The previous miracle of the multiplication of the bread had taken place near the town of Tiberias (cf. John 6:23). Jesus’ disciples set sail for Capernaum (6:17) and were joined by the Lord in the middle of the sea. The next day boats from Tiberias picked up a few of those who had seen the multiplication (certainly not the whole 5,000) and brought them to Capernaum. It was to this group that Jesus spoke in 6:26-27. But there were also people from Capernaum who had gathered to see Jesus, who had not witnessed the multiplication, and it was this group that asked Jesus for a miraculous sign like the manna (6:30-31). This would have seemed superfluous if it were the same crowd that had already seen the multiplication of the bread. But some from Capernaum had heard about it and wanted to see a similar miracle repeated.

[6:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:26]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:26]  ¹³ tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”

[6:27]  ¹⁴ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  ¹⁵ tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “on this one.”

[6:28]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the works.”

[6:28]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “What must we do to work the works of God?”

[6:29]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:29]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the work.”

[6:29]  ²¹ tn Grk “This is the work of God.”

[6:29]  ²² tn Grk “that one” (i.e., God).

[6:31]  ²³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[6:31]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 78:24 (referring to the events of Exod 16:4-36).

[6:32]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:33]  ²⁶ tn Or “he who.”

[6:34]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Grk “the one who believes in me will not possibly thirst, ever.”

[6:36]  ²⁹ tn Grk “But I said to you.”

[6:36]  ³⁰ tc A few witnesses lack με (me, “me”; א A a b e q sy^s,c), while the rest of the tradition has the word (Ì^66,75vid rell). It is possible that the mss that lack the pronoun preserve the original wording here, with the rest of the witnesses adding the pronoun for clarity’s sake. This likelihood increases since the object is not required in Greek. Without it, however, ambiguity increases: The referent could be “me” or it could be “signs,” reaching back to vv. 26 and 30. However, the oblique form of ἐγώ (egw, the first person personal pronoun) occurs some two dozen times in this chapter alone, yet it vacillates between the emphatic form and the unemphatic form. Although generally the unemphatic form is used with verbs, there are several exceptions to this in John (cf. 8:12; 12:26, 45, 48; 13:20; 14:9). If the pronoun is a later addition here, one wonders why it is so consistently the unemphatic form in the mss. Further, that two unrelated Greek witnesses lack this small word could easily be due to accidental deletion. Finally, the date and diversity of the witnesses for the pronoun are so weighty that it is likely to be authentic and should thus be retained in the text.

[6:37]  ³¹ tn Or “drive away”; Grk “cast out.”

[6:39]  ³² tn Or “resurrect them all,” or “make them all live again”; Grk “raise it up.” The word “all” is supplied to bring out the collective nature of the neuter singular pronoun αὐτό (auto) in Greek. The plural pronoun “them” is used rather than neuter singular “it” because this is clearer in English, which does not use neuter collective singulars in the same way Greek does.

[6:40]  ³³ tn Or “resurrect him,” or “make him live again.”

[6:40]  ³⁴ sn Notice that here the result (having eternal life and being raised up at the last day) is produced by looking on the Son and believing in him. Compare John 6:54 where the same result is produced by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. This suggests that the phrase in 6:54 (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood in terms of the phrase here (looks on the Son and believes in him).