Four Thousand Men Fed

In those days, (A)when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus summoned His disciples and *said to them, (B)I feel compassion for the [a]people because they have remained with Me for three days already and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” And His disciples replied to Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough [b]bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” And He *directed the [c]people to recline on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve, and they served them to the [d]people. They also had a few small fish; and (C)after He had blessed them, He told the disciples to serve these as well. And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large (D)baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. About four thousand [e]men were there; and He dismissed them. 10 And immediately He got into the boat with His disciples and came to the region of (E)Dalmanutha.

11 (F)And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, (G)demanding from Him a [f]sign from heaven, [g]to test Him. 12 (H)Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation demand a [h]sign? Truly I say to you, [i](I)no [j]sign will be given to this generation!” 13 And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 8:2 Lit crowd
  2. Mark 8:4 Lit loaves
  3. Mark 8:6 Lit crowd
  4. Mark 8:6 Lit crowd
  5. Mark 8:9 I.e., 4,000 men plus women and children, cf. Matt 15:38
  6. Mark 8:11 I.e., confirming miracle
  7. Mark 8:11 Lit testing Him
  8. Mark 8:12 I.e., confirming miracle
  9. Mark 8:12 Lit if a sign shall be given, a very strong refusal
  10. Mark 8:12 I.e., confirming miracle

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand(A)(B)(C)

During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people;(D) they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.(E) The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.(F) About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10 he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.(G) 12 He sighed deeply(H) and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

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