Matthew 14:15-21

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.” 14:18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied. 14:19 Then ⁵  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, ⁶  who in turn gave them to the crowds. ⁷  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, ⁸  so ⁹  the twelve came and said to Jesus, ¹⁰  “Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging ¹¹  and food, because we are in an isolated place.” ¹²  9:13 But he said to them, “You ¹³  give them something to eat.” They ¹⁴  replied, ¹⁵  “We have no more than five loaves and two fish – unless ¹⁶  we go ¹⁷  and buy food ¹⁸  for all these people.” 9:14 (Now about five thousand men ¹⁹  were there.) ²⁰  Then ²¹  he said to his disciples, “Have ²²  them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 9:15 So they did as Jesus directed, ²³  and the people ²⁴  all sat down.

9:16 Then ²⁵  he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks ²⁶  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 ²⁷  was picked up – twelve baskets of broken pieces.

John 6:5-15

6:5 Then Jesus, when he looked up ²⁸  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 ²⁹  said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) ³⁰  6:7 Philip replied, ³¹  “Two hundred silver coins worth ³²  of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 6:8 One of Jesus’ disciples, ³³  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 ³⁴  are these for so many people?”

6:10 Jesus said, “Have ³⁵  the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) ³⁶  So the men ³⁷  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, ³⁸  as much as they wanted. 6:12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus ³⁹  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 ⁴⁰  left over by the people who had eaten.

6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus ⁴¹  performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet ⁴²  who is to come into the world.” ⁴³  6:15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone. ⁴⁴ 

[14:15]  ¹ tn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).

[14:16]  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 Z^vid 579 1424 pc e k sy^s,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.

[14:16]  ³ tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

[14:17]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[14:19]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[14:19]  ⁶ 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.

[14:19]  ⁷ tn Grk “to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.”

[9:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “the day began to decline,” looking to the approach of sunset.

[9:12]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ request was related to the approach of sunset.

[9:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ¹¹ tn That is, find someone to show them hospitality. L&N 34.61 has “find lodging,” using this verse as an example.

[9:12]  ¹² tn Or “in a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation). Here ὧδε (Jwde) has not been translated.

[9:13]  ¹³ tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

[9:13]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “said.”

[9:13]  ¹⁶ tn This possibility is introduced through a conditional clause, but it is expressed with some skepticism (BDF §376).

[9:13]  ¹⁷ tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

[9:13]  ¹⁸ 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.

[9:14]  ¹⁹ 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).

[9:14]  ²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[9:14]  ²¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:14]  ²² 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).

[9:15]  ²³ 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.

[9:15]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:16]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:16]  ²⁶ 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.”

[9:17]  ²⁷ sn There was more than enough for everybody, as indicated by the gathering of what was left over.

[6:5]  ²⁸ tn Grk “when he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[6:6]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:6]  ³⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:7]  ³¹ tn Grk “Philip answered him.”

[6:7]  ³² 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.

[6:8]  ³³ tn Grk “one of his disciples.”

[6:9]  ³⁴ tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[6:10]  ³⁵ tn Grk “Make.”

[6:10]  ³⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author (suggesting an eyewitness recollection).

[6:10]  ³⁷ 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).

[6:11]  ³⁸ tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”

[6:12]  ³⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:13]  ⁴⁰ 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.

[6:14]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ⁴² sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[6:14]  ⁴³ sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.

[6:15]  ⁴⁴ sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).