John 6
6
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
1After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4(It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
7Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money#6:7 Greek Two hundred denarii would not be enough. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage. to feed them!”
8Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.
14When the people saw him#6:14a Some manuscripts read Jesus. do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”#6:14b See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6. 15When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.
Jesus Walks on Water
16That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. 18Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19They had rowed three or four miles#6:19 Greek 25 or 30 stadia [4.6 or 5.5 kilometers]. when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!#6:20 Or The ‘I Am’ is here; Greek reads I am. See Exod 3:14.” 21Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!
Jesus, the Bread of Life
22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man#6:27 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
28They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
30They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’#6:31 Exod 16:4; Ps 78:24.”
32Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
35Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
41Then the people#6:41 Greek Jewish people; also in 6:52. began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45As it is written in the Scriptures,#6:45 Greek in the prophets. Isa 54:13. ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46(Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)
47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48Yes, I am the bread of life! 49Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”
52Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
53So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”
59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”
61Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”
66At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
68Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.#6:69 Other manuscripts read you are the Christ, the Holy One of God; still others read you are the Christ, the Son of God; and still others read you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
70Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” 71He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.
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John 6: NLT
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John 6
6
The Feeding of Five Thousand
1 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee (that is, Tiberias). 2And a large crowd was following him because they were observing the signs that he was doing on those who were sick. 3So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4(Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.) 5Then Jesus, when he looked up#Literally “then Jesus lifting up the eyes” #*Here “when” in the translation is supplied as a component of the participle “lifting up” which is understood as temporal 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.) 7Philip replied to him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, in order that each one could receive a little.” 8One 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?” 10Jesus said, “Make the people recline.” (Now there was a lot of grass in the place.) So the men reclined, approximately five thousand in number. 11Then Jesus took the bread, and after he#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal had given thanks, he distributed it#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation to those who were reclining—likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather the remaining fragments so that nothing is lost.” 13So they gathered them,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
14Now when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal the people saw the sign that he performed, they began to say,#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”) “This one is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15Then Jesus, because he#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal knew that they were about to come and seize him in order to make him#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation king, withdrew again up the mountain by himself alone.
Jesus Walks on the Water
16Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea. 17And getting into a boat, they began to go#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to go”) to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18And the sea began to be stirred up#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to be stirred up”) because#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was blowing”) which is understood as causal a strong wind was blowing. 19Then when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had rowed”) which is understood as temporal had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia,#A “stade” or “stadium” (plur. “stadia”) is about 607 ft (187 m), so this was around 3 miles (5 km) they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20But he said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid!” 21So 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
22On 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. 23Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“had given thanks”) the Lord had given thanks. 24So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
25And when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“found”) which is understood as temporal found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26Jesus 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! 27Do 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.”
28So they said to him, “What shall we do that we can accomplish the works of God?” 29Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom that one sent.” 30So they said to him, “Then what sign will you perform, so that we can see it#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and believe you? What will you do? 31Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’#A quotation from Ps 78:24 which refers to the events of Exod 16:4–36
32Then 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! 33For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34So they said to him, “Sir, always give us this bread!”
35Jesus 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. 36But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. 37Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out, 38because I have come down from heaven not that I should do my will, but the will of the one who sent me. 39Now this is the will of the one who sent me: that everyone whom he has given me, I would not lose any of them,#This pronoun is neuter singular in Greek, but is collective but raise them#This pronoun is neuter singular in Greek, but is collective up on the last day. 40For 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.”
41Now the Jews began to grumble#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to grumble”) about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42and 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’?” 43Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves!#Literally “with one another” 44No 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. 45It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’#A quotation from Isa 54:13 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.)#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 47Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that someone may eat from it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever.#Literally “for the age” And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52So the Jews began to quarrel#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to quarrel”) among themselves,#Literally “with one another” saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53Then 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! 54The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56The one who eats#*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 my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who eats#*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 me—that one will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one who eats#*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 this bread will live forever.”#Literally “for the age”
Many of Jesus’ Disciples Offended by His Teaching
59He said these things while#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“teaching”) which is understood as temporal teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60Thus many of his disciples, when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal heard it,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation said, “This saying is hard! Who can understand it?” 61But Jesus, because he#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal knew within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? 62Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? 63The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64But 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.) 65And 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
66For this reason many of his disciples drew back#Literally “went away to the things behind” and were not walking with him any longer. 67So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”#*The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “do you” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70Jesus 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.)
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