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Easy-to-Read Version
Matthew 14:17
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- CondensedParallel Translations
“But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to him.
And they say vnto him, We haue heere but fiue loaues, and two fishes.
And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."
They said to Him, "We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish."
They said to him, "But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish."
They replied, "We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish."
Then saide they vnto him, Wee haue here but fiue loaues, and two fishes.
They said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
But they *said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
But they said, "We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish."
"All we have with us," they said, "is five loaves of bread and two fish."
But they say to him, We have not here save five loaves and two fishes.
They said to him, We have nothing here, except five loaves of bread and two fish.
"All we have here are five loaves and two fish," they replied.
And they said to him, "We do not have anything here except five loaves and two fish."
But they said to Him, We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish.
And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
And they say to him, We have here but five cakes of bread and two fishes.
They told him, "We only have here five loaves and two fish."
They told him, "We don't have anything here except five loaves of bread and two fish."
They said to him, We have nothing here but five cakes and two fishes.
And they said to him: We have nothing here but five cakes and two fishes.
They saye vnto hym: we haue here but fyue loaues, and two fisshes.
And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
They told him, "We only have here five loaves and two fish."
They say to him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes.
"We have nothing here," they said, "but five loaves and a couple of fish."
Thei answeriden, We han not heere, but fyue looues and twei fischis.
And they say to him, We have here but five loaves, and two fish.
And they say to him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
They said to him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
"But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!" they answered.
They said to Him, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish."
They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."
But, they, say unto him - We have nothing here, save five loaves and two fishes.
They answered him: We have not here, but five loaves, and two fishes.
They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."
Then sayde they vnto him: we have here but .v. loves and two fysshes.
And they say to him, `We have not here except five loaves, and two fishes.'
The saide they vnto him: We haue here but fyue loaues and two fyshes.
we have nothing here, said they, but five loaves, and two fishes.
"All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish," they said.
They all looked at him like he'd grown donkey ears. "All we got to feed with is five biscuits and two small catfish."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Matthew 15:33, Matthew 15:34, Numbers 11:21-23, Psalms 78:19, Psalms 78:20, Mark 6:37, Mark 6:38, Mark 8:4, Mark 8:5, Luke 9:13, John 6:5-9
Reciprocal: Genesis 34:12 - dowry 1 Kings 17:14 - The barrel of meal 2 Kings 4:43 - What Matthew 16:9 - the five loaves Mark 8:19 - the five John 6:9 - which
Cross-References
Jephthah went back to Mizpah. He went to his house, and his daughter came out to meet him. She was playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only daughter, and Jephthah loved her very much. He did not have any other sons or daughters.
David would go out to fight against the Philistines. On the way home, after the battles, women in every town in Israel would come out to meet him. They sang and danced for joy as they played their tambourines and lyres. They did this right in front of Saul!
While Absalom was alive he put up a memorial stone in King's Valley. He said, "I have no son to keep my name alive." So he named that monument after himself. It is called "Absalom's Monument" even today.
The poor have no friends, not even their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.
Wealth will bring you many friends, but become poor and your friends will leave you.
Melchizedek was the king of Salem and a priest for God the Most High. He met Abraham when Abraham was coming back after defeating the kings. That day Melchizedek blessed him.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And they say unto him,.... In order to excuse themselves, and to show the impossibility of feeding such a large number of people;
we have here but five loaves; and these barley ones, coarse bread;
and two fishes; small ones, which were dried and salted, and fit for present eating; which they either brought along with them for their own refreshment, or rather, were brought thither by a boy to sell, as is usual where a great concourse of people are got together: these words seem to be spoken by Andrew, Simon Peter's brother; who added, "but what are they among so many?" see John 6:8 not thinking of the power of Christ, who was able to multiply, and make this provision a sufficiency for the whole company.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
A full narrative of the feeding the five thousand is given in each of the other evangelists: in Mark 6:32-44; in Luke 9:10-17; in John 6:1-14.
Matthew 14:13
And when Jesus heard of it, he departed - He went to a place of safety.
He never threw himself unnecessarily into danger. It was proper that he should secure his life until the appointed time had come for him to die.
By a ship into a desert place - That is, he crossed the Sea of Galilee. He went to the country east of the sea, into a place little inhabited. Luke says Luke 9:10 he went to a place called Bethsaida. See the notes at Matthew 11:21. âA desert placeâ means a place little cultivated, where there were few or no inhabitants. On the east of the Sea of Galilee there was a large tract of country of this description rough, uncultivated, and chiefly used to pasture flocks.
Matthew 14:14
Was moved with compassion - That is, pitied them.
Mark 6:34 says he was moved with compassion because they were as sheep having no shepherd. A shepherd is one who takes care of a flock. It was his duty to feed it; to defend it from wolves and other wild beasts; to take care of the young and feeble; to lead it by green pastures and still waters, Psalms 23:1-6. In Eastern countries this was a principal employment of the inhabitants. When Christ says the people were as sheep without a shepherd, he means that they had no teachers and guides who cared for them and took pains to instruct them. The scribes and Pharisees were haughty and proud, and cared little for the common people; and when they did attempt to teach them, they led them astray. They therefore came in great multitudes to him who preached the gospel to the poor Matthew 11:5, and who was thus the good shepherd, John 10:14.
Matthew 14:15
The time is now past - That is, the day is passing away; it is near night, and it is proper to make some provision for the temporal wants of so many.
Perhaps it may mean it was past the usual time for refreshment.
Matthew 14:16
Jesus said They need not depart; give ye them to eat - John adds John 6:5-6 that previous to this Jesus had addressed Philip, and asked, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? and that he âsaid this to prove him; for he himself knew what he would do;â that is, he said this to try his faith; to test the confidence of Philip in himself.
Philip, it seems, had not the kind of confidence which he ought to have had. He immediately began to think of their ability to purchase food for them. Two hundred pennyworth of bread, said he, would not be enough, John 6:7. In the original it is two hundred denarii. These were Roman coins amounting to about fourteen cents (7d.) each. The whole two hundred, therefore, would have been equal to about twenty-eight dollars. In the view of Philip this was a great sum, a sum which twelve poor fishermen were by no means able to provide. It was this fact, and not any unwillingness to provide for them, which led the disciples to request that they should be sent into the villages around in order to obtain food. Jesus knew how much they had, and he required of them, as he does of all, implicit faith, and told them to give them to eat. He requires us to do what he commands, and we need not doubt that he will give us strength to accomplish it.
Matthew 14:17
We have here but five loaves ... - These loaves were in the possession of a lad, or young man, who was with them, and were made of barley, John 6:9
It is possible that this lad was one in attendance on the apostles to carry their food, but it is most probable he was one who had provision to sell among the multitude. Barley was a cheap kind of food, scarcely one-third the value of wheat, and was much used by poor people. A considerable part of the food of the people in that region was probably fish, as they lived on the borders of a lake that abounded in fish.
Matthew 14:19
And he commanded the multitude to sit down - In the original it is âto reclineâ on the grass, or to lie as they did at their meals.
The Jews never sat, as we do, at meals, but reclined or lay at length. See the notes at Matthew 23:6. Mark and Luke add that they reclined in companies, by hundreds and by fifties.
And looking up to heaven, he blessed - Luke adds, he blessed âthem;â that is, the loaves. The word âto blessâ means, often, to give thanks; sometimes to pray for a blessing; that is, to pray for the divine favor and friendship; to pray that what we do may meet his approbation. In seeking a blessing on our food, it means that we pray that it may be made nourishing to our bodies; that we may have proper gratitude to God, the giver, for providing for our wants; and that we may remember the Creator while we partake the bounties of his providence. Our Saviour always sought a blessing on his food. In this he was an example for us. What he did we should do. It is right thus to seek the blessing of God. He provides for us; he daily opens his hand and satisfies our wants, and it is proper that we should render suitable acknowledgments for his goodness.
The custom among the Jews was universal. The form of prayer which they used in the time of Christ has been preserved by their writers, the Talmudists. It is this: âBlessed be thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, who hast produced this food and this drink from the earth and the vine.â
And brake - The loaves of bread, among the Jews, were made thin and brittle, and were therefore broken and not cut.
Matthew 14:20
And they did all eat, and were filled - This was an undoubted miracle.
The quantity must have been greatly increased to have supplied so many. He that could increase that small quantity so much had the power of creation; and he that could do that could create the world out of nothing, and had no less than divine power.
Twelve baskets full - The size of these baskets is unknown. They were probably such as travelers carried their provisions in. They were used commonly by the Jews in their journeys. In traveling among the Gentiles or Samaritans, a Jew could expect little hospitality. There were not, as now, public houses for the entertainment of strangers. At great distances there were caravansaries, but they were intended chiefly as lodging-places for the night, and not to provide food for travelers. Hence, in journeying among strangers or in deserts, they carried baskets of provisions, and this is the reason why they were furnished with them here. It is probable that each of the apostles had one, and they were all filled. John John 6:12 says that Jesus directed them to gather up these fragments, that nothing might be lost - an example of economy. God creates all food; it has, therefore, a kind of sacredness; it is all needed by some person or other, and none should be lost.
Matthew 14:21
Five thousand men, besides ... - Probably the whole number might have been ten thousand, To feed so many was an act of great benevolence and a stupendous miracle.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 14:17. We have here but five loaves and two fishes. — When we are deeply conscious of our own necessities, we shall be led to depend on Jesus with a firmer faith. God often permits his servants to be brought low, that they may have repeated opportunities of proving the kindness and mercy of their gracious Lord and Master.
