Feeding 4,000

32 Now Jesus summoned His disciples and said,(A) “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way.”

33 The disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place(B) to fill such a crowd?”

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

“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”

35 After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish, and He gave thanks, broke them, and kept on giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.(C) 37 They all ate and were filled. Then they collected the leftover pieces—seven large baskets full. 38 Now those who ate were 4,000 men, besides women and children. 39 After dismissing the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.[a](D)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 15:39 Other mss read Magdala

The Feeding of Four Thousand

32 And Jesus summoned his disciples and[a] said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry lest they give out on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where in this desolate place can we get[b] so much bread that such a great crowd could be satisfied?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” So they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” 35 And commanding the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish and after he[c] had given thanks, he broke them[d] and began giving[e] them[f] to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. 39 And after he[g] sent away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 15:32 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb
  2. Matthew 15:33 Literally “for us”
  3. Matthew 15:36 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal
  4. Matthew 15:36 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  5. Matthew 15:36 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began giving”)
  6. Matthew 15:36 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  7. Matthew 15:39 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal