He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces. Those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.
Show the surrounding paragraph
Matthew 14:19-21 sits inside this longer paragraph.
He said, “Bring them here to me.” He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces. Those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.
Parallel Translations
-
He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes.
They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces.
Those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.
-
And he commaunded the people to syt downe on the grasse: and toke the.v. loves and the.ii. fysshes and loked vp to heven and blessed and brake and gave the loves to his disciples and the disciples gave them to the people.
And they dyd all eate and were suffised. And they gadered vp of the gobbetes that remayned vii. basketes full.
And they that ate werein nobre about.v.M. men besyde wemen and chyldren.
Show all 3 translations
-
And hee commanded the multitude to sit downe on the grasse, and tooke the fiue loaues and the two fishes, and looked vp to heauen and blessed, and brake, and gaue the loaues to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
And they did all eate, and were sufficed, and they tooke vp of the fragments that remained, twelue baskets full.
And they that had eaten, were about fiue thousande men, beside women and litle children.
Cross-references (47)
- 1 Samuel 9:13 (v19) As soon as you have come into the city, you will immediately find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not…
- Mark 8:6-7 (v19) He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves. Having given thanks, he broke them, and gave them to…
- Exodus 16:12 (v20) “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall…
- Luke 24:30 (v19) When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them.
- Philippians 4:19 (v21) My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Show all 47 cross-references
- 1 Timothy 4:4-5 (v19) For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified through the…
- Matthew 16:8-10 (v20) Jesus, perceiving it, said, “Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, ‘because you have brought no bread?’ Don’t you yet…
- Mark 6:41 (v19) He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves, and he gave to his disciples to set…
- Acts 27:35 (v19) When he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all, then he broke it and began to eat.
- Exodus 16:8 (v20) Moses said, “Now Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because Yahweh hears your…
- 1 Kings 17:12-16 (v20) She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering…
- Matthew 15:35-36 (v19) He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to…
- Matthew 26:26-27 (v19) As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”…
- Mark 6:42-44 (v20) They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and also of the fish. Those who ate the loaves were five…
- Romans 14:6 (v19) He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats,…
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 (v19) When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 (v21) And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work. As…
- Leviticus 26:26 (v20) When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight. You shall…
- 2 Kings 4:1-7 (v20) Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead. You know that…
- 2 Kings 4:43-44 (v20) His servant said, “What, should I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give the people, that they may eat; for Yahweh says, ‘They…
- Mark 7:34 (v19) Looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”
- Mark 8:8-9 (v20) They ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets of broken pieces that were left over. Those who had eaten were about four thousand.…
- Mark 14:22-23 (v19) As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed, he broke it, and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.” He…
- Luke 1:53 (v20) He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
- Luke 9:14 (v19) For they were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
- Luke 9:17 (v20) They ate and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
- John 6:11-14 (v20) Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise…
- Acts 4:4 (v21) But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
- 1 Corinthians 10:16 (v19) The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of…
- Colossians 3:17 (v19) Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
- Proverbs 13:25 (v20) The righteous one eats to the satisfying of his soul, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
- Ezekiel 4:14-16 (v20) Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that which…
- Haggai 1:6 (v20) You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe…
- Matthew 5:6 (v20) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
- Matthew 15:33 (v20) The disciples said to him, “Where should we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
- Mark 6:39 (v19) He commanded them that everyone should sit down in groups on the green grass.
- Mark 8:16-21 (v20) They reasoned with one another, saying, “It’s because we have no bread.” Jesus, perceiving it, said to them, “Why do you reason that it’s…
- John 6:7 (v20) Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may receive a little.”
- John 6:10 (v21) Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
- Acts 4:34 (v21) For neither was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the…
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 (v19) Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
- Matthew 15:37-38 (v20) They all ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. Those who ate were four thousand…
- Luke 9:16 (v19) He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set…
- Luke 22:19 (v19) He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in…
- John 6:10-11 (v19) Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus…
- John 6:23 (v19) However boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
- John 11:41 (v19) So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–21 19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down…
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
Ver. 19. And looking up to heaven, he blessed] Heathens consecrated their cares before they tasted them, as appears by many passages in Homer and Virgil. Some say that the elephant, ere he eats his food, turns up with his trunk the first sprig towards heaven. The Scripture, we are sure, says, that "men eat to God when they give thanks," Rom 14:6. To whom then do they eat that give none?
Read full note →
And the disciples, to the multitude] They grudged not of their little to give others some, and it grew in their hands, as the widow’s oil did in the cruse. Not getting, but giving, is the way to thrive. Nothing was ever lost by liberality.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v20 They did all eat, not a crumb or a…
They did all eat, not a crumb or a bit, but to satiety and fullness: They did eat and were filled, yet twelve baskets remained; more was left than was at first set on. So many bellies, and yet so many baskets filled. The miracle was doubled by an act of boundless omnipotency. It is hard to say, which was the greater miracle, the miraculous eating, or the miraculous leaving. If we consider that they ate, we may justly wonder that they left any thing.
Observe farther, these fragments, though of barley bread and fish bones must not be lost; but by our Saviour’s command, gathered up. The liberal housekeeper of the world will not allow the loss of his orts. O how fearful then will the account of those be, who have large and plentiful estates to answer for as lost, being spent upon their lusts in riot and excess!
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv19–21 And they did all eat,.... Christ and his twelve…
And they did all eat,.... Christ and his twelve disciples, and the five thousand men, with the women and children, of the five loaves and two fishes; everyone had their portion,
and were filled; they were satisfied, they had a full meal, they had enough, and to spare; see Ch2 31:10 which the Targumist paraphrases thus.
Read full note →
"And Azariah said unto him, who was appointed chief over the house of Zadok, and said, from the time that they began to separate the offering, to bring it into the sanctuary of the Lord, , "we have eat and are filled", and have "left much"; for "the word of the Lord" hath blessed his people, and what is left, lo! it is this plenty of good.''
The Jews used not to reckon it a meal, unless a man was filled, and account it an ill sign, if nothing was left: but here was fulness, and more left than was first had; which was gathered up, either for the use of the poor, or reserved for after service; teaching us liberality to the needy, and frugality, not to waste that which is left.
And they took up of the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full; according to the number of the disciples, every man had his basket full. It may be inquired, where they could have so many baskets in the wilderness? It is not likely, that everyone of the apostles had a basket with him; it is indeed not improbable, but that they might be furnished with them from some in the company, who might bring provisions with them, either for their own use, or to sell; see Joh 6:9 but perhaps the reason why they were so easily supplied with such a number of baskets in a desert place, might be a custom which the Jews (h) had of carrying baskets with hay and straw, in commemoration of what they did in Egypt; when they were obliged to carry bricks in baskets, and to go about and pick up straw in baskets to make bricks; hence the (i) Epigrammatist calls a "Jew", "cistifer", a "basket bearer", or "carrier"; and Juvenal (k) laughs at these people, as if all their household goods lay in a basket, and a little hay, or straw: it is said of R. Siraeon, that when he went to the school, , "he carried a basket" on his shoulders (l); the gloss suggests, it was to sit upon; but a basket is not very proper for a seat; very likely it was for the above reason: such a custom will account for it, how such a number of baskets could be come at in the wilderness.
(h) Nicholas de Lyra, in Psal. lxxxi. 6. (i) Nubere: nupsisti Gellia Cistifero. Martial. Epigram. 1. 5. ep. 17. (k) Judaeis: quorum Cophinus foenumque supellex. Juvenal. Satyr. 3. cum dedit ille locum, Cophino, foenoque relicto. ib. Satyr. 6. (l) T. Bab. Nedarim, fol. 49. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv19–20 Verse 19. And took the five loaves, c.] This…
Verse 19. And took the five loaves, c.] This was the act of the father of a family among the Jews-his business it was to take the bread into his hands, and render thanks to God, before any of the family was permitted to taste of it.
Looking up to heaven] To teach us to acknowledge GOD as the Supreme Good, and fountain of all excellence.
Read full note →
He blessed] The word God should, I think, be rather inserted here than the word them, because it does not appear that it was the loaves which Christ blessed, but that God who had provided them and this indeed was the Jewish custom, not to bless the food, but the God who gave it. However, there are others who believe the loaves are meant, and that he blessed them in order to multiply them. The Jewish form of blessing, or what we term grace, before and after meat, was as follows:-
BEFORE MEAT.
ברוך אתה אלהינו מלך העולם המוצא לחם מן הארץ
Barnuc attah Elohinoo melec haolam hamoise lechem min haarets:
Blessed art thou, our God, King of the universe, who bringest
bread out of the earth!
AFTER MEAT.
ברוך אלהינו מלך העולם בורא פרי הגפן
Barnuc Elohinoo melec haolam bore peri hagephen:
Blessed art thou, our God, King of the universe, the Creator
of the fruit of the vine!
And brake] We read often in the Scriptures of breaking bread, never of cutting it: because the Jews made their bread broad and thin like cakes, and to divide such, being very brittle, there was no need of a knife.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v19 Mat 14:19-21. He commanded the multitude to sit down…
Mat 14:19-21. He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass — Mark says, by companies, as we render the phrase συμποσια, συμποσια, which is literally, companies, companies, that is, in separate companies. These, as appears by comparing Mar 6:39 with Luk 9:14, consisted some of fifty persons, some of a hundred, according as the ground would admit. Our Lord probably ordered them to be ranged in this manner that they might sit compactly, that their numbers might appear, that the meat might be divided among them with ease, and that none might be neglected in the distribution. And no sooner did Christ signify his will to the disciples, and they intimated it to the multitude, than they all instantly did as they were ordered: so great an opinion had they of Christ’s wisdom and power! Though they thus sat on the ground, under no canopy but the sky, and had only barley bread, and, as it seems, cold or dried fishes to eat, and probably nothing but water to drink; yet, as Mr. Henry truly and beautifully observes, there was more real grandeur displayed by the Master of this feast than by Ahasuerus, in that royal feast which was intended to show the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the honour of his excellent majesty. And took the five loaves, &c. — Thus acting like the master of a family among the Jews, who was wont to take the bread into his hands and to give thanks to God, before any at the table was permitted to eat any thing: And looking up to heaven — With great reverence and affection; he blessed — That is, says Dr. Whitby, with whom agree many other commentators, he blessed, or gave thanks to God, the liberal giver of all good, for his infinite beneficence in furnishing food to all flesh, and for the power he had conferred on him of relieving mankind by his miracles, particularly that which he was about to work, and which perhaps he prayed for, to raise the attention of the multitude, as we find him doing before the resurrection of Lazarus, Joh 11:41. They apprehend that his looking up to heaven when he blessed, shows that his blessing was directed to God, and that it imported a thanksgiving for his great goodness. Accordingly John expresses it by ευχαριστησας, having given thanks, he distributed, &c. It must be observed, however, that most commentators refer the expression, he blessed, to the loaves and fishes, because Luke says expressly, ευλογησεν αυτους, he blessed them; that is, he commanded upon them that singular blessing by which they were multiplied in the distribution. Thus God is said to bless the springing of the corn, Psa 65:10. And gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude — “It is not to be supposed,” says Macknight, “that twelve persons could put first a piece of bread, and then a piece of fish, into the hands of five thousand men, besides the women and children, who were all fed with such expedition, that, notwithstanding the thing was not so much as proposed to the disciples till about three, all was over by five o’clock in the afternoon, as may be gathered from Joh 6:16, where see the note. It is natural, therefore, to conclude, that, in distributing the meat, the disciples used the most expeditious method, putting, by their Master’s direction, the bread first, and after that the fish, into the hands of those only who sat at the ends of the ranks, with orders to give it to their companions. On this supposition, the meat must have extended its dimensions, not in our Lord’s hands only, but in the hands of the multitude likewise, continuing to swell till there was a greater quantity than they, who held it, could make use of; so that breaking off what was sufficient for themselves, they gave the remainder to the persons next them, who, in like manner, saw the bread and fish swell in their own hands till they also had enough and to spare. The meat being thus created among the hands of the multitude, and before their eyes, as long as there was a single person to be fed, they did all eat, and were filled, to their unspeakable astonishment. In this manner did he who is the Bread of Life feed about ten thousand people, (for doubtless the women and children were as numerous as the men,) with five loaves and two small fishes, giving a magnificent proof, not only of his goodness, but of his creating power. For after all had eaten to satiety, the disciples, at Jesus’s command, (see note on Joh 6:12,)
took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces of meat, each disciple a basket, in which there must have been much more than the quantity at first set before the Lord to divide. The stupendous miracle, therefore, without all doubt, was conspicuous, not to the disciples only, who, carrying each his basket in his hand, had an abiding, sensible demonstration of its truth, but to every individual guest at this divine feast, who had all felt themselves delighted, filled, refreshed, and strengthened by the meal. This being one of the most astonishing, and at the same time the most extensively convincing of all the miracles Jesus performed during the course of his ministry, every one of the evangelists has recorded it; and, which is remarkable, it is the only one found in each of their histories.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv19–20 Commanded the multitude to sit down.[3] Lit. to lie…
Commanded the multitude to sit down.[3] Lit. to lie down, as it was then the custom of the Jews, and of other nations, at meat. See Mark vi, and John vi. &c. --- He blessed. St. Luke (ix. 16.) says, he blessed them. St. John (vi. 11,) says when he had given thanks: some think this blessing and giving thanks, for the same; but blessing them, must be referred to the loaves, and giving thanks, must be to God. The loaves miraculously increased partly in the hands of Christ, when he broke them, partly in the hands of the disciples, when they distributed them about. (Witham) --- He blessed and brake. From this let Christians learn to give thanks at their meals, begging of God that his gifts may be sanctified for their use. From this miracle it appears, that it is no impossibility for bodies, even in their natural state, to be in many places at the same time; since, supposing these loaves to have been sufficient for 50 persons, as there were a hundred such companies, the loaves must have been in a hundred different places at one and the same time. It cannot be said, as some pretend, that other loaves were invisibly put into the apostles’ hands, since it is said that they filled 12 baskets of fragments of the five barley loaves; and again, he divided the two fishes among them all. If God could cause bodies, in their natural state, to be in many places at one and the same time, how much more easy would it be to do the same with spiritual bodies, with the properties of which we are entirely unacquainted; so that from this it appears, that the objection that Christ’s body cannot be in many different places in the holy Eucharist, is nugatory. But, who are we, to ask such a question of the Almighty, who know not what is possible, and what is not possible for him to do! (Bp. Hay, Sincere Christian.)
===============================
Read full note →
[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Benedixit. St. Luke, (ix. 16.) benedixit illis, Greek: eulogese autous, which is not the same as Greek: eucharistein.
====================
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv19–21 19. On the grass — It is called a…
19. On the grass — It is called a desert as being uninhabited, not as being barren. It seems to have been a grassy plain. Sit down — In parties, or as we may say, in separate tables, as Mark informs us. Thus the whole was more orderly.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–20 19. to sit down on the grass] Rather, grassy…
19. to sit down on the grass] Rather, grassy places. St Mark and St Luke mention that they sat in companies “by hundreds and by fifties” (Mark), “by fifties” (Luke). St John notes the time of year; “the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–21 (19) He commanded the multitude to sit down on…
(19) He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass.—This, too, was done with a calm and orderly precision. They were to sit down in companies of fifty or a hundred each, and thus the number of those who were fed became a matter of easy calculation. St. Mark, with a vivid picturesqueness, describes them as presenting the appearance of so many beds of flowers in a well-ordered garden. The bright colours of Eastern dress probably made the resemblance more striking than it would be with a like multitude so arranged among ourselves.
Looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake.—The act was natural and simple enough, the “saying grace” (St. John uses the word, “giving thanks”) of the head of a Jewish household as he gathered his family around him. The formulæ in such cases were commonly short and simple, like our own, such e.g. as, “May God, the ever-blessed One, bless what He has given us.” Looking, however, to the teaching which followed the miracle, as in John 6, and to our Lord’s subsequent use at the Last Supper of the same words and acts, with others which gave them a new and higher meaning, we can hardly be wrong in thinking that as He now distributed the earthly bread to the hungering crowd, through the agency of His Apostles, there was present to His mind the thought that hereafter He would, through the same instrumentality, impart to souls that hungered after righteousness the gift of communion with Himself, that thus they might feed on the true Bread that cometh down from heaven.
Read full note →
It lies in the nature of the case, as a miracle of the highest order, that the process of multiplication is inconceivable in its details. Did each loaf, in succession, supply a thousand with food, and then come to an end, its place taken by another? Was the structure of the fishes, bone and skin and head, reproduced in each portion that was given to the guests at that great feast? We know not, and the Evangelists did not care to ask or to record. It was enough for them that the multitude “did all eat, and were filled.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv19–21 And he commanded the multitude; the multitudes (Revised Version).…
And he commanded the multitude; the multitudes (Revised Version). Here also the plural (ver. 15), because they are thought of as grouped over the ground. To sit down; i.e. to recline as at a meal ( anakliyhnai). On the grass (epi tou crtou). The addition of "green" (clwrov) in Mark suits the time of the Passover (ver. 13, note), but hardly of any later feast, for the grass would have been dried up. And took the five loaves, and the two fishes. He used all the means there were. And looking up to heaven. So also Mar_7:34 Joh_17:1. He blessed. He may well have used the blessing that is still used over bread ("Blessed art thou, Jehovah our God, King of the world, that causest bread to come forth from the earth"); for this can be apparently traced to the second or third century A.D., and is probably much older still (cf. Edersheim, "Life," 1:684; Zunz, "Gottesdienstliche Vortrage," p. 371, edit. 1832). (For the habit of saying grace before meals, cf. Mat_15:36 Mat_26:26 Rom_14:6 1Co_10:30 1Ti_4:5; see also 1Sa_9:13) And brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. That the people received the bread at the hands of the disciples is not mentioned by St. John. Perhaps because his chapter dwells so much on the need of direct contact with Christ. But Christ"s work through his agents, both before and after his time on earth, is an important point with the synoptists.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv19–21 19. He commanded the multitude to sit down. We…
19. He commanded the multitude to sit down. We learn from Mark that they sat down in companies. On the grass. John says, “there was much grass there.” It was in the spring season, in Nisan, “the month of flowers,” and the slopes were rich with the spring grass. Looking up to heaven. In prayer we should use such outward gestures as may most fitly serve to express the inward disposition and holy affections of our heart and soul. He blessed. He either gave thanks or asked the Father's blessing on the food.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v19 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
This concludes the account of Jesus feeding five thousand people.
Read full note →
sit down
"lie down." Use the verb for the position people in your culture usually are in when they eat.
He took
"He held in his hands." He did not steal them. (See: Idiom)
broke the loaves
"tore the loaves"
loaves
"loaves of bread" or "whole breads"
Looking up
Possible meanings are 1) "While looking up" or 2) "After looking up."
and were filled
This can be translated in active form. AT: "until they were full" or "until they were no longer hungry" (See: Active or Passive)
they took up
"the disciples gathered up" or "some people gathered up"
twelve baskets full
"12 baskets full" (See: Numbers)
Those who ate
"Those who ate the bread and the fish"
five thousand men
"5,000 men" (See: Numbers)
translationWords
Jesus
heaven
bless
disciple
basket
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v21 14:21 5,000 men . . . in addition to…
14:21 5,000 men . . . in addition to all the women and children: The count was of families, denoted by heads of households, rather than individuals.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.