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So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.
John 6:13 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
  • BSB So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
  • ESV So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
  • NKJV Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
  • NASB So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
  • NLT So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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 leftovers fill twelve baskets, proving the abundance of Jesus's provision. The surplus far exceeds the original meal, displaying His divine power.

Overview

From five small loaves come twelve baskets of leftovers, one perhaps for each disciple and possibly evoking the twelve tribes of Israel. The miracle echoes Elisha feeding a hundred with twenty loaves and having some left (2 Kings 4:42-44), but Jesus surpasses it. The abundance points to Christ as the true and inexhaustible bread.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Prov 11:24–25There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.
  • 2 Cor 9:8–9And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work.
  • 1 Kgs 7:15–16For he fashioned the two pillars of brass, eighteen cubits high apiece; and a line of twelve cubits encircled either of them.
  • 2 Kgs 4:2–7Elisha said to her, “What should I do for you? Tell me: what do you have in the house?” She said, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil.”
  • 2 Chr 25:9Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “Yahweh is able to give you much more than this.”
  • Phil 4:19My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 6:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 6:13 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.