Matthew 16:8

Simplified Cowboy Version

Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, "Y'all ain't got a lick of faith do you? Why are you talkin' about not havin' any biscuits?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Aware of this, Jesus said, “You of little faith,

King James Version (1611)
Which when Iesus perceiued, he said vnto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among your selues, because ye haue brought no bread?

King James Version
Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

English Standard Version
But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

New American Standard Bible
But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

New Century Version
Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, "Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small.

Amplified Bible
But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves that you have no bread?

Geneva Bible (1587)
But Iesus knowing it, saide vnto them, O ye of litle faith, why reason you thus among your selues, because ye haue brought no bread?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?

Legacy Standard Bible
But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?

Berean Standard Bible
Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, "You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread?

Contemporary English Version
Jesus knew what they were thinking and said: You surely don't have much faith! Why are you talking about not having any bread?

Complete Jewish Bible
But Yeshua, aware of this, said, "Such little trust you have! Why are you talking with each other about not having bread?

Darby Translation
And Jesus knowing [it], said, Why reason ye among yourselves, O ye of little faith, because ye have taken no bread?

Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus knew that they were talking about this. So he asked them, "Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small.

George Lamsa Translation
But Jesus knew it and said to them, What are you thinking among yourselves, O you of little faith; is it because you have not brought bread?

Good News Translation
Jesus knew what they were saying, so he asked them, "Why are you discussing among yourselves about not having any bread? What little faith you have!

Lexham English Bible
But knowing this, Jesus said, "Why are you discussing among yourselves that you did not take bread, you of little faith?

Literal Translation
And knowing, Jesus said to them, Why do you reason among yourselves because you took no loaves, little-faiths?

American Standard Version
And Jesus perceiving it said, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have no bread?

Bible in Basic English
And Jesus, seeing it, said, O you of little faith, why are you reasoning among yourselves, because you have no bread?

Hebrew Names Version
Yeshua, perceiving it, said, "Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, 'because you have brought no bread?'

International Standard Version
Knowing this, Jesus said, "You who have little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you don't have any bread?

Etheridge Translation
But Jeshu knew, and said to them, Why reason you within yourselves, little in faith, because bread you have not brought ?

Murdock Translation
But Jesus knew [fn] and said to them: O ye small in faith! why reason ye among yourselves because ye have taken no bread?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Which when Iesus vnderstoode, he sayde vnto them: O ye of little fayth, why thynke you within your selues, because ye haue brought no bread?

English Revised Version
And Jesus perceiving it said, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have no bread?

World English Bible
Jesus, perceiving it, said, "Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, 'because you have brought no bread?'

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Jesus knowing it said to them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have taken no bread?

Weymouth's New Testament
Jesus perceived this and said, "Why are you reasoning among yourselves, you men of little faith, because you have no bread?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But Jhesus witynge seide to hem, What thenken ye among you of litel feith, for ye han not looues?

Update Bible Version
And Jesus perceiving it said, O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves, because you have no bread?

Webster's Bible Translation
[Which] when Jesus perceived, he said to them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

New English Translation
When Jesus learned of this, he said, "You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread?

New King James Version
But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? [fn]

New Living Translation
Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, "You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread?

New Life Bible
Jesus knew this and said, "You have very little faith! Why are you talking among yourselves about not bringing bread?

New Revised Standard
And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, "You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, observing it, Jesus said - Why are ye deliberating among yourselves, ye little-of-faith! because, loaves, ye have not?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jesus knowing it, said: Why do you think within yourselves, O ye of little faith, for that you have no bread?

Revised Standard Version
But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
When Iesus vnderstode that he sayd vnto the. O ye of lytell faith why are youre mindes cumbred because ye have brought no breed?

Young's Literal Translation
And Jesus having known, said to them, `Why reason ye in yourselves, ye of little faith, because ye took no loaves?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whe Iesus perceaued yt, he sayde to the: O ye of litle faith, why are ye combred (in yor mindes (because ye haue take no bred wt you?

Mace New Testament (1729)
which Jesus perceiving, he said, distrustful men, why do ye trouble your heads about forgetting the bread?

Contextual Overview

⁵The cowboys had forgotten to bring biscuits when they crossed the lake. ⁶Jesus warned 'em against the yeast of the hypocritical preachers and the cattle barons. ⁷The cowboys talked among themselves and said to each other, "He must be sayin' that because we forgot the biscuits." ⁸Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, "Y'all ain't got a lick of faith do you? Why are you talkin' about not havin' any biscuits? ⁹Why don't you understand? Did you already forget about those five thousand people and all the leftovers from just five biscuits? ¹⁰And what about the four thousand cowboys and all the leftovers from just seven pieces of hard tack? ¹¹Don't you know by now I ain't talkin' about biscuits? Watch out for the yeast of the hypocritical preachers and cattle barons!" ¹²Finally it began to sink in and the cowboys knew what he was talkin' about. He wasn't talkin' about yeast for makin' biscuits, but the things that the hypocritical preachers and cattle barons tried to get people to do.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: John 2:24, John 2:25, John 16:30, Hebrews 4:13, Revelation 2:23

O ye: Matthew 6:30, Matthew 8:26, Matthew 14:31, Mark 16:14

Reciprocal: Exodus 40:33 - up the court 2 Kings 4:43 - They shall eat Matthew 9:4 - knowing Matthew 14:20 - and they took Matthew 17:17 - O faithless Mark 2:6 - and reasoning Mark 4:13 - Know Mark 4:40 - no faith Mark 8:16 - General Mark 8:17 - perceive Luke 12:28 - O ye Luke 24:38 - and why John 6:43 - Murmur

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Which when Jesus perceived,.... Without hearing any of their debates, but by his omniscience; for he knew the doubts and unbelief, and anxious solicitude of their minds, as well as their private reasonings one with another:

he said unto them, O ye of little faith; a phrase used upon a like occasion, when he would dissuade his disciples from an anxious distressing care about a livelihood, Matthew 6:30

See Gill "Mt 6:30":

why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? blaming one another for your negligence and forgetfulness in this matter; distressing your minds, as if you should be famished and starved, because ye have not brought a quantity of bread, as you used to do with you.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The account in these verses is also recorded in Mark 8:13-21.

Matthew 16:5

And when his disciples were come to the other side - That is, to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

Mark says that he entered into a ship again, and departed to the other side. The conversation with the Pharisees and Sadducees had been on the western side of the Sea of Galilee. See the notes at Matthew 15:39. They crossed from that side again to the east.

Had forgotten to take bread - That is, had forgotten to lay in a sufficient supply. They had, it seems, not more than one loaf, Mark 8:14.

Matthew 16:6-11

Take heed ... - That is, be cautious, be on your guard.

The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees - Leaven is used in making bread.

It passes secretly, silently, but certainly through the mass of dough. See the notes at Matthew 13:33. “None can see its progress.” So it was with the doctrines of the Pharisees. They were insinuating, artful, plausible. They concealed the real tendency of their doctrines; they instilled them secretly into the mind, until they pervaded all the faculties like leaven.

They reasoned ... - The disciples did not understand him as referring to the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees, because the word “leaven” was not often used among the Jews to denote doctrines, no other instance of this use of the word occurring in the Scriptures. Besides, the Jews had many particular rules about the leaven (yeast) which might be used in making bread. Many held that it was not lawful to eat bread made by the Gentiles; and the disciples, perhaps, supposed that he was cautioning them not to procure a supply from the Pharisees and Sadducees.

O ye of little faith! - Jesus, in reply, said that they should not be so anxious about the supply of their temporal wants. They should not have supposed, after the miracles that he had performed in feeding so many, that he would caution them to be anxious about procuring bread for their necessities. It was improper, then, for them to reason about a thing like that, but they should have supposed that he referred to something more important. The miracles had been full proof that he could supply all their wants without such anxiety.

Matthew 16:12

Then understood they ... - After this explanation they immediately saw that he referred to the doctrines of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Erroneous doctrines are like leaven in the following respects:

1. They are at first slight and unimportant in appearance, just as leaven is small in quantity as compared with the mass that is to be leavened.
2. They are insinuated into the soul unawares and silently, and are difficult of detection.
3. They act gradually.
4. They act most certainly.
5. They will pervade all the soul, and bring all the faculties under their control.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 16:8. When Jesus perceived, he said — αυτοις, unto them, is wanting in BDKLMS, and twenty others; one of the Syriac, the Armenian, Ethiopic, Vulgate, and most of the Itala; also in Origen, Theophylact, and Lucifer Calaritanus. Mill approves of the omission, and Griesbach has left it out of the text.

O ye of little faith — There are degrees in faith, as well as in the other graces of the Spirit. Little faith may be the seed of great faith, and therefore is not to be despised. But many who should be strong in faith have but a small measure of it, because they either give way to sin, or are not careful to improve what God has already given.