But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ”
Parallel translations
- WEB His servant said, “What, should I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give the people, that they may eat; for Yahweh says, ‘They will eat, and will have some left over.’”
- KJV And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.
- BSB But his servant asked, “How am I to set twenty loaves before a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha, “for this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’”
- NASB But his attendant said, “How am I to serve this to a hundred men?” Nevertheless he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for this is what the Lord says: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ”
- NLT “What?” his servant exclaimed. “Feed a hundred people with only this?” But Elisha repeated, “Give it to the people so they can eat, for this is what the Lord says: Everyone will eat, and there will even be some left over!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The servant doubts twenty loaves can feed a hundred men, but Elisha promises leftovers by Yahweh's word. God's provision overflows human expectation.
Overview
The servant's objection highlights the gap between the small supply and the great need. Elisha answers with God's promise that there will be food to spare. The miracle rests on the word of Yahweh, not on the size of the gift. This foreshadows Jesus feeding thousands with a few loaves, with baskets left over.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Luke 9:13But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people.”
- Matt 14:20They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces.
- John 6:9“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”
- John 6:11–13Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.
- Matt 16:8–10Jesus, perceiving it, said, “Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, ‘because you have brought no bread?’
- Matt 15:37They all ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.
- Matt 15:33–34The disciples said to him, “Where should we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
- Luke 9:17They ate, and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
- Mark 6:37–39But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them something to eat?”
- Matt 14:16–17But Jesus said to them, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
- Mark 8:4His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”
- Mark 8:20“When the seven loaves fed the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They told him, “Seven.”
- Mark 6:42–43They all ate, and were filled.
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 4:43 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.