John 6
World English Bible
6 After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick. 3 Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Jesus therefore, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may receive a little.”
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”
10 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. 11 Jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down, likewise also of the fish as much as they desired. 12 When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.” 15 Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea. 17 They entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 The sea was tossed by a great wind blowing. 19 When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia,[b] they saw Jesus walking on the sea(A) and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But he said to them, “It is I.[c] Don’t be afraid.” 21 They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. Immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.
22 On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn’t entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone. 23 However, boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
26 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.”
28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
30 They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see and believe you? What work do you do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven[d] to eat.’”(B)
32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe. 37 All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39 This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. 40 This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41 The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
43 Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up in the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ (C) Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father. 47 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me 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 which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves. 54 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will also live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
60 Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”
61 But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life. 64 But there are some of you who don’t believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who didn’t believe, and who it was who would betray him. 65 He said, “For this cause I have said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.”
66 At this, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. 67 Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You don’t also want to go away, do you?”
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
70 Jesus answered them, “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 Now he spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for it was he who would betray him, being one of the twelve.
Footnotes
- 6:7 A denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wages for an agricultural laborer, so 200 denarii would be between 6 and 7 month’s pay.
- 6:19 25 to 30 stadia is about 5 to 6 kilometers or about 3 to 4 miles
- 6:20 or, I AM
- 6:31 Greek and Hebrew use the same word for “heaven”, “the heavens”, “the sky”, and “the air”.
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
- John 6:5 Literally “then Jesus lifting up the eyes”
- John 6:5 *Here “when” in the translation is supplied as a component of the participle “lifting up” which is understood as temporal
- John 6:11 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal
- John 6:11 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 6:13 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 6:14 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- John 6:14 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
- John 6:15 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal
- John 6:15 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 6:17 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to go”)
- John 6:18 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to be stirred up”)
- John 6:18 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was blowing”) which is understood as causal
- John 6:19 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had rowed”) which is understood as temporal
- John 6:19 A “stade” or “stadium” (plur. “stadia”) is about 607 ft (187 m), so this was around 3 miles (5 km)
- John 6:23 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“had given thanks”)
- John 6:25 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“found”) which is understood as temporal
- John 6:30 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 6:31 A quotation from Ps 78:24 which refers to the events of Exod 16:4–36
- John 6:39 This pronoun is neuter singular in Greek, but is collective
- John 6:39 This pronoun is neuter singular in Greek, but is collective
- John 6:41 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to grumble”)
- John 6:43 Literally “with one another”
- John 6:45 A quotation from Isa 54:13
- 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
- John 6:51 Literally “for the age”
- John 6:52 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to quarrel”)
- John 6:52 Literally “with one another”
- 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
- 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
- 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
- John 6:58 Literally “for the age”
- John 6:59 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“teaching”) which is understood as temporal
- John 6:60 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- John 6:60 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 6:61 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“knew”) which is understood as causal
- John 6:66 Literally “went away to the things behind”
- 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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