John 6:24-35

Contemporary English Version

²⁴They saw that Jesus and his disciples had left. Then they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus. ²⁵They found him on the west side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “I tell you for certain that you are not looking for me because you saw the miracles,^[a] but because you ate all the food you wanted. ²⁷^(A) Don't work for food that spoils. Work for food that gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because God the Father has given him the right to do so.”

²⁸“What exactly does God want us to do?” the people asked.

²⁹Jesus answered, “God wants you to have faith in the one he sent.”

³⁰They replied, “What miracle will you work, so that we can have faith in you? What will you do? ³¹^(B) For example, when our ancestors were in the desert, they were given manna^[b] to eat. It happened just as the Scriptures say, ‘God gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³²Jesus then told them, “I tell you for certain that Moses wasn't the one who gave you bread from heaven. My Father is the one who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³And the bread that God gives is the one who came down from heaven to give life to the world.”

³⁴The people said, “Sir, give us this bread and don't ever stop!”

³⁵Jesus replied:

I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty.

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Footnotes

6.26 miracles: The Greek text has “signs” here and “sign” in verse 30 (see the note at 2.11).
6.31 manna: When the people of Israel were wandering through the desert, the Lord gave them a special kind of food to eat. It tasted like a wafer and was called “manna,” which in Hebrew means, “What is this?”