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John 6
Lexham English Bible

The Feeding of Five Thousand

6 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee (that is, Tiberias). 2 And a large crowd was following him because they were observing the signs that he was doing on those who were sick. 3 So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 (Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.) 5 Then Jesus, when he looked up[a] [b] and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6 (Now he said this to test him, because he knew what he was going to do.) 7 Philip replied to him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, in order that each one could receive a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people recline.” (Now there was a lot of grass in the place.) So the men reclined, approximately five thousand in number. 11 Then Jesus took the bread, and after he[c] had given thanks, he distributed it[d] to those who were reclining—likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather the remaining fragments so that nothing is lost.” 13 So they gathered them,[e] and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

14 Now when[f] the people saw the sign that he performed, they began to say,[g] “This one is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15 Then Jesus, because he[h] knew that they were about to come and seize him in order to make him[i] king, withdrew again up the mountain by himself alone.

Jesus Walks on the Water

16 Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea. 17 And getting into a boat, they began to go[j] to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 And the sea began to be stirred up[k] because[l] a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then when they[m] had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia,[n] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20 But he said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid!” 21 So they were wanting to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land to which they were going.

Discourse About the Bread of Life

22 On the next day, the crowd that was on the other side of the sea saw that other boats were not there (except one), and that Jesus had not entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had departed alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after[o] the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

25 And when they[p] found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied to them and said, “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were satisfied! 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but the food that remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has set his seal on this one.”

28 So they said to him, “What shall we do that we can accomplish the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom that one sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign will you perform, so that we can see it[q] and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[r]

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven! 33 For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir, always give us this bread!”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty again. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out, 38 because I have come down from heaven not that I should do my will, but the will of the one who sent me. 39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me: that everyone whom he has given me, I would not lose any of them,[s] but raise them[t] up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in him would have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

41 Now the Jews began to grumble[u] about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42 and they were saying, “Is this one not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves![v] 44 No one is able to come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’[w] Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—this one has seen the Father.)[x] 47 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that someone may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever.[y] And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 So the Jews began to quarrel[z] among themselves,[aa] saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves! 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats[ab] my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who eats[ac] me—that one will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one who eats[ad] this bread will live forever.”[ae]

Many of Jesus’ Disciples Offended by His Teaching

59 He said these things while[af] teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 Thus many of his disciples, when they[ag] heard it,[ah] said, “This saying is hard! Who can understand it?” 61 But Jesus, because he[ai] knew within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “Because of this I said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.”

Peter’s Confession

66 For this reason many of his disciples drew back[aj] and were not walking with him any longer. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”[ak] 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus replied to them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is the devil?” 71 (Now he was speaking about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, because this one—one of the twelve—was going to betray him.)

Footnotes

  1. John 6:5 Literally “then Jesus lifting up the eyes”
  2. John 6:5 *Here “when” in the translation is supplied as a component of the participle “lifting up” which is understood as temporal
  3. John 6:11 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal
  4. John 6:11 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  5. John 6:13 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  6. John 6:14 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
  7. John 6:14 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
  8. John 6:15 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal
  9. John 6:15 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  10. John 6:17 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to go”)
  11. John 6:18 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to be stirred up”)
  12. John 6:18 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was blowing”) which is understood as causal
  13. John 6:19 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had rowed”) which is understood as temporal
  14. John 6:19 A “stade” or “stadium” (plur. “stadia”) is about 607 ft (187 m), so this was around 3 miles (5 km)
  15. John 6:23 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“had given thanks”)
  16. John 6:25 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“found”) which is understood as temporal
  17. John 6:30 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  18. John 6:31 A quotation from Ps 78:24 which refers to the events of Exod 16:4–36
  19. John 6:39 This pronoun is neuter singular in Greek, but is collective
  20. John 6:39 This pronoun is neuter singular in Greek, but is collective
  21. John 6:41 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to grumble”)
  22. John 6:43 Literally “with one another”
  23. John 6:45 A quotation from Isa 54:13
  24. John 6:46 The switch from first person in vv. 44–45 to third person here and back to first person in vv. 47–51 suggests that this verse is a parenthetical comment by the author rather than the words of Jesus
  25. John 6:51 Literally “for the age”
  26. John 6:52 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to quarrel”)
  27. John 6:52 Literally “with one another”
  28. John 6:56 This term is somewhat graphic and typically used for animals feeding, but the distinction from other Greek verbs for eating is difficult to convey in English
  29. John 6:57 This term is somewhat graphic and typically used for animals feeding, but the distinction from other Greek verbs for eating is difficult to convey in English
  30. John 6:58 This term is somewhat graphic and typically used for animals feeding, but the distinction from other Greek verbs for eating is difficult to convey in English
  31. John 6:58 Literally “for the age”
  32. John 6:59 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“teaching”) which is understood as temporal
  33. John 6:60 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  34. John 6:60 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  35. John 6:61 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal
  36. John 6:66 Literally “went away to the things behind”
  37. John 6:67 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “do you”
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John 6
New International Version

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand(A)

6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs(B) he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside(C) and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival(D) was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,(E) “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,(F) spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”(G)

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,(H) and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the sign(I) Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”(J) 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king(K) by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.(L)

Jesus Walks on the Water(M)

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water;(N) and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”(O) 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake(P) realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.(Q) 23 Then some boats from Tiberias(R) landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.(S) 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Jesus the Bread of Life

25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi,(T) when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me,(U) not because you saw the signs(V) I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures(W) to eternal life,(X) which the Son of Man(Y) will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal(Z) of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe(AA) in the one he has sent.”(AB)

30 So they asked him, “What sign(AC) then will you give that we may see it and believe you?(AD) What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna(AE) in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[c]”(AF)

32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven(AG) and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”(AH)

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am(AI) the bread of life.(AJ) Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes(AK) in me will never be thirsty.(AL) 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me(AM) will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven(AN) not to do my will but to do the will(AO) of him who sent me.(AP) 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me,(AQ) but raise them up at the last day.(AR) 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son(AS) and believes in him shall have eternal life,(AT) and I will raise them up at the last day.”

41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph,(AU) whose father and mother we know?(AV) How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”(AW)

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them,(AX) and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’[d](AY) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God;(AZ) only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.(BA) 48 I am the bread of life.(BB) 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.(BC) 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,(BD) which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread(BE) that came down from heaven.(BF) Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”(BG)

52 Then the Jews(BH) began to argue sharply among themselves,(BI) “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh(BJ) of the Son of Man(BK) and drink his blood,(BL) you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.(BM) 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.(BN) 57 Just as the living Father sent me(BO) and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”(BP) 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

60 On hearing it, many of his disciples(BQ) said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”(BR)

61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?(BS) 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man(BT) ascend to where he was before!(BU) 63 The Spirit gives life;(BV) the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known(BW) from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.(BX) 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”(BY)

66 From this time many of his disciples(BZ) turned back and no longer followed him.

67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.(CA)

68 Simon Peter answered him,(CB) “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.(CC) 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”(CD)

70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you,(CE) the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”(CF) 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot,(CG) who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)(CH)

Footnotes

  1. John 6:7 Greek take two hundred denarii
  2. John 6:19 Or about 5 or 6 kilometers
  3. John 6:31 Exodus 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Psalm 78:24,25
  4. John 6:45 Isaiah 54:13
  5. John 6:63 Or are Spirit; or are spirit
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