I Am the Bread of Life

²² On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only ^(A)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord ^(B)had given thanks. ^24 (C)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and ^(D)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ^(E)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(F)you are seeking me, not because you saw ^(G)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ^27 (H)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for ^(I)the food that endures to eternal life, which ^(J)the Son of Man will give to you. For on ^(K)him God the Father has ^(L)set his seal.” ²⁸ Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing ^(M)the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, ^(N)that you believe in him whom ^(O)he has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to him, ^(P)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ^31 (Q)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ^(R)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^(S)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ They said to him, ^(T)“Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, ^(U)“I am the bread of life; ^(V)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ^37 (W)All that ^(X)the Father gives me will come to me, and ^(Y)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸ For ^(Z)I have come down from heaven, not to do ^(AA)my own will but ^(AB)the will of him ^(AC)who sent me. ³⁹ And ^(AD)this is the will of him who sent me, ^(AE)that I should lose nothing of ^(AF)all that he has given me, but ^(AG)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who ^(AH)looks on the Son and ^(AI)believes in him ^(AJ)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ^(AK)“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, ^(AL)“Is not this Jesus, ^(AM)the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(AN)we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me ^(AO)draws him. And ^(AP)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ^(AQ)‘And they will all be ^(AR)taught by God.’ ^(AS)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ^46 (AT)not that anyone has seen the Father except ^(AU)he who is from God; he ^(AV)has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AW)whoever believes has eternal life. ^48 (AX)I am the bread of life. ^49 (AY)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and ^(AZ)they died. ^50 (BA)This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it ^(BB)and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(BC)that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give ^(BD)for the life of the world is ^(BE)my flesh.”

⁵² The Jews then ^(BF)disputed among themselves, saying, ^(BG)“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(BH)the Son of Man and drink his blood, you ^(BI)have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(BJ)has eternal life, and ^(BK)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(BL)abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As ^(BM)the living Father ^(BN)sent me, and ^(BO)I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. ^58 (BP)This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread^[a] the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ Jesus^[b] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught ^(BQ)at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

^60 (BR)When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(BS)knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? ⁶² Then what if you were to see ^(BT)the Son of Man ^(BU)ascending to ^(BV)where he was before? ^63 (BW)It is the Spirit who gives life; ^(BX)the flesh is no help at all. ^(BY)The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But ^(BZ)there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus ^(CA)knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and ^(CB)who it was who would betray him.) ⁶⁵ And he said, “This is why I told you ^(CC)that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

^66 (CD)After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(CE)the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(CF)the words of eternal life, ⁶⁹ and ^(CG)we have believed, and have come to know, that ^(CH)you are ^(CI)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, ^(CJ)“Did I not choose you, ^(CK)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(CL)a devil.” ⁷¹ He spoke of Judas ^(CM)the son of Simon Iscariot, for ^(CN)he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Traditions and Commandments

7 ^(A)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^(B)who had come from Jerusalem, ² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^(C)defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,^[a] holding to ^(D)the tradition of ^(E)the elders, ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.^[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^(F)the washing of ^(G)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.^[c]) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^(H)the tradition of ^(I)the elders, ^(J)but eat with ^(K)defiled hands?” ⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^(L)hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^(O)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(P)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(Q)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)^[d]— ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus ^(R)making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^(S)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: ^15 (T)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”^{[e] 17} And when he had entered ^(U)the house and left the people, ^(V)his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then ^(W)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart ^(X)but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[f] (^(Y)Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, ^(Z)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^(AA)murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, ^(AB)sensuality, ^(AC)envy, ^(AD)slander, ^(AE)pride, ^(AF)foolishness. ^23 (AG)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Traditions and Commandments

15 ^(A)Then Pharisees and ^(B)scribes came to Jesus ^(C)from Jerusalem and said, ^2 (D)“Why do your disciples break ^(E)the tradition of the elders? ^(F)For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” ³ He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, ^(G)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^(H)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”^{[a] 6} he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^(I)made void the word^[b] of God. ^7 (J)You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, ^(M)“Hear and understand: ^11 (N)it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” ¹² Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^(O)offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³ He answered, ^(P)“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^(Q)will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; ^(R)they are blind guides.^[c] And ^(S)if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ But Peter said to him, ^(T)“Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶ And he said, ^(U)“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that ^(V)whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^{[d] 18} But ^(W)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come ^(X)evil thoughts, ^(Y)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^(Z)slander. ^20 (AA)These are what defile a person. But ^(AB)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”