Ministry of the Twelve

(A)Now He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. And He sent them out to (B)proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And He said to them, (C)Take nothing for your journey, (D)neither a staff, nor a [a]bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two [b]tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there [c]until you leave that city. And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, (E)shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” And as they were leaving, they began going [d]throughout the villages, (F)preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

(G)Now (H)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that (I)John had risen from the dead, and by some that (J)Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And (K)he kept trying to see Him.

10 (L)When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. (M)And taking them with Him, He withdrew privately to a city called (N)Bethsaida. 11 But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and He welcomed them and began speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and curing those who had need of healing.

Five Thousand Men Fed

12 Now the day [e]was ending, and the twelve came up and said to Him, “Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get [f]something to eat; because here, we are in a secluded place.” 13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 (For there were about five thousand men.) But He said to His disciples, “Have them recline to eat (O)in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so, and had them all recline. 16 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He blessed them and broke them, and gave them to the disciples again and again, to serve the crowd.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 9:3 Or knapsack
  2. Luke 9:3 A long shirt worn next to the skin
  3. Luke 9:4 Lit and leave from there
  4. Luke 9:6 Or from village to village
  5. Luke 9:12 Lit began to decline
  6. Luke 9:12 Lit provisions

The Sending of the Twelve Apostles

After[a] Jesus[b] called[c] the twelve[d] together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure[e] diseases, and he sent[f] them out to proclaim[g] the kingdom of God[h] and to heal the sick.[i] He[j] said to them, “Take nothing for your[k] journey—no staff,[l] no bag,[m] no bread, no money, and do not take an extra tunic.[n] Whatever[o] house you enter, stay there[p] until you leave the area.[q] Wherever[r] they do not receive you,[s] as you leave that town,[t] shake the dust off[u] your feet as a testimony against them.” Then[v] they departed and went throughout[w] the villages, proclaiming the good news[x] and healing people everywhere.

Herod’s Confusion about Jesus

Now Herod[y] the tetrarch[z] heard about everything that was happening, and he was thoroughly perplexed,[aa] because some people were saying that John[ab] had been raised from the dead, while others were saying that Elijah[ac] had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had risen.[ad] Herod said, “I had John[ae] beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus.[af]

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

10 When[ag] the apostles returned,[ah] they told Jesus[ai] everything they had done. Then[aj] he took them with him and they withdrew privately to a town[ak] called Bethsaida.[al] 11 But when the crowds found out, they followed him. He[am] welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God,[an] and cured those who needed healing.[ao] 12 Now the day began to draw to a close,[ap] so[aq] the twelve came and said to Jesus,[ar] “Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging[as] and food, because we are in an isolated place.”[at] 13 But he said to them, “You[au] give them something to eat.” They[av] replied,[aw] “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless[ax] we go[ay] and buy food[az] for all these people.” 14 (Now about 5,000 men[ba] were there.)[bb] Then[bc] he said to his disciples, “Have[bd] them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 So they did as Jesus directed,[be] and the people[bf] all sat down.

16 Then[bg] he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks[bh] and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 9:1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  2. Luke 9:1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. Luke 9:1 tn An aorist participle preceding an aorist main verb may indicate either contemporaneous (simultaneous) action (“When he called…he gave”) or antecedent (prior) action (“After he called…he gave”). The participle συγκαλεσάμενος (sunkalesamenos) has been translated here as indicating antecedent action.
  4. Luke 9:1 tc Some mss add ἀποστόλους (apostolous, “apostles”; א C* L Θ Ψ 070 0291 ƒ13 33 579 892 1241 1424 2542 lat) or μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ (mathētas autou, “his disciples”; C3 al it) here, but such clarifying notes are clearly secondary.
  5. Luke 9:1 sn Note how Luke distinguishes between exorcisms (authority over all demons) and diseases here.
  6. Luke 9:2 sn “To send out” is often a term of divine commission in Luke: 1:19; 4:18, 43; 7:27; 9:48; 10:1, 16; 11:49; 13:34; 24:49.
  7. Luke 9:2 tn Or “to preach.”
  8. Luke 9:2 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
  9. Luke 9:2 sn As Jesus’ own ministry (Luke 4:16-44) involved both word (to proclaim) and deed (to heal) so also would that of the disciples.
  10. Luke 9:3 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  11. Luke 9:3 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
  12. Luke 9:3 sn Mark 6:8 allows one staff. It might be that Luke’s summary (cf. Matt 10:9-10) means not taking an extra staff or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.
  13. Luke 9:3 tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).
  14. Luke 9:3 tn Grk “have two tunics.” See the note on the word “tunics” in 3:11.
  15. Luke 9:4 tn Grk “And whatever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  16. Luke 9:4 sn Jesus telling his disciples to stay there in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging.
  17. Luke 9:4 tn Grk “and depart from there.” The literal wording could be easily misunderstood; the meaning is that the disciples were not to move from house to house in the same town or locality, but remain at the same house as long as they were in that place.
  18. Luke 9:5 tn Grk “And wherever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  19. Luke 9:5 tn Grk “all those who do not receive you.”
  20. Luke 9:5 tn Or “city.”
  21. Luke 9:5 sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.
  22. Luke 9:6 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  23. Luke 9:6 tn This is a distributive use of κατά (kata); see L&N 83:12 where this verse is cited as an example of the usage.
  24. Luke 9:6 tn Or “preaching the gospel.” sn This verse is similar to Luke 9:2, except for good news at this point. The change means that to “preach the kingdom” is to “preach the good news.” The ideas are interchangeable as summaries for the disciples’ message. They are combined in Luke 8:1.
  25. Luke 9:7 sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.
  26. Luke 9:7 sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.
  27. Luke 9:7 tn Or “was very confused.” See L&N 32.10 where this verse is given as an example of the usage.
  28. Luke 9:7 sn John refers to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded (v. 9).
  29. Luke 9:8 sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.
  30. Luke 9:8 sn The phrase had risen could be understood to mean “had been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. The three options of vv. 7-8 will be repeated in v. 19.
  31. Luke 9:9 tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.
  32. Luke 9:9 tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezētei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.
  33. Luke 9:10 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  34. Luke 9:10 tn The participle ὑποστρέψαντες (hupostrepsantes) has been taken temporally.
  35. Luke 9:10 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  36. Luke 9:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  37. Luke 9:10 tc There is a seeming myriad of variants for this text. Many mss read εἰς τόπον ἔρημον (eis topon erēmon, “to a deserted place”; א*,2 [1241]) or εἰς τόπον ἔρημον πόλεως καλουμένης Βηθσαϊδά (eis topon erēmon poleōs kaloumenēs Bēthsaida, “to a deserted place of a town called Bethsaida”; [A] C W Ξmg1,13] [565] M) here, while others have εἰς κώμην λεγομένην Βηδσαϊδά (eis kōmēn legomenēn Bēdsaida, “to a village called Bedsaida”; D), εἰς κώμην καλουμένην Βηθσαϊδά εἰς τόπον ἔρημον (eis kōmēn kaloumenēn Bēthsaida eis topon erēmon, “to a village called Bethsaida to a deserted place”; Θ), or εἰς τόπον καλουμένον Βηθσαϊδά (eis topon kaloumenon Bēthsaida, “to a place called Bethsaida”; Ψ). The Greek behind the translation (εἰς πόλιν καλουμένην Βηθσαϊδά, eis polin kaloumenēn Bēthsaida) is supported by (P75) א1 B L Ξ* 33 2542 co. The variants can be grouped generally into those that speak of a “deserted place” and those that speak of a place/city/town called Bethsaida. The Byzantine reading is evidently a conflation of the earlier texts, and should be dismissed as secondary. The variants that speak of a deserted place are an assimilation to Mark 6:32, as well a harmonization with v. 12, and should also be regarded as secondary. The reading that best explains the rise of the others—both internally and externally—is the one that stands behind the translation and is found in the text of NA28.tn Or “city.”
  38. Luke 9:10 sn Bethsaida was a town on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Probably this should be understood to mean a place in the vicinity of the town. It represents an attempt to reconcile the location with the place of the miraculous feeding that follows.
  39. Luke 9:11 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  40. Luke 9:11 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
  41. Luke 9:11 sn Again the combination of word (spoke to them) and healing (cured, compassionate deed) is what summarizes Jesus’ ministry: See Luke 4:38-44; 6:17-19; 7:22 (as also the disciples, 9:6).
  42. Luke 9:12 tn Grk “the day began to decline,” looking to the approach of sunset.
  43. Luke 9:12 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ request was related to the approach of sunset.
  44. Luke 9:12 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  45. Luke 9:12 tn That is, find someone to show them hospitality. L&N 34.61 has “find lodging,” using this verse as an example.
  46. Luke 9:12 tn Or “in a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation). Here ὧδε (hōde) has not been translated.
  47. Luke 9:13 tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (humeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.
  48. Luke 9:13 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  49. Luke 9:13 tn Grk “said.”
  50. Luke 9:13 tn This possibility is introduced through a conditional clause, but it is expressed with some skepticism (BDF §376).
  51. Luke 9:13 tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuthentes) has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.
  52. Luke 9:13 sn Not only would going and buying food have been expensive and awkward at this late time of day, it would have taken quite a logistical effort to get the food back out to this isolated location.
  53. Luke 9:14 tn The Greek text reads here ἄνδρες (andres)—that is, adult males. The actual count would be larger, since the use of this Greek term suggests that women and children were not included in this number (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).
  54. Luke 9:14 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  55. Luke 9:14 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  56. Luke 9:14 tn Or “Make” (depending on how the force of the imperative verb is understood). Grk “cause them to recline” (the verb has causative force here).
  57. Luke 9:15 tn Grk “And they did thus.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ action was a result of Jesus’ instructions. The adverb οὕτως (houtōs, “thus”) has been expanded in the translation to “as Jesus directed” to clarify what was done.
  58. Luke 9:15 tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  59. Luke 9:16 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  60. Luke 9:16 sn Gave thanks adds a note of gratitude to the setting. The scene is like two other later meals: Luke 22:19 and 24:30. Jesus gives thanks to God “with respect to” the provision of food. The disciples learn how Jesus is the mediator of blessing. John 6 speaks of him in this scene as picturing the “Bread of Life.”

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.

And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;

And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.

And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.

10 And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.

11 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

12 And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.

13 But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.

14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.

15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.

16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.

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Jesus Sends Out the Twelve(A)(B)

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons(C) and to cure diseases,(D) and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God(E) and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.(F) Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”(G) So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

Now Herod(H) the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John(I) had been raised from the dead,(J) others that Elijah had appeared,(K) and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.(L) But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.(M)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand(N)(O)

10 When the apostles(P) returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,(Q) 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God,(R) and healed those who needed healing.

12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them.(S) Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.

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