At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
Parallel translations
- WEB The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
- KJV The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
- NKJV The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
- NASB Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
- NLT Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
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 Jews argue over how Jesus can give His flesh to eat. Taking His words literally, they stumble at the offense of the cross.
Overview
Misunderstanding Jesus's figurative language, the people are scandalized. Their question shows the offense His claims provoke when received without faith. John uses their objection to deepen Jesus's teaching, as He presses the necessity of receiving His sacrificed life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 10:19Again there was division among the Jews because of Jesus’ message.
- John 9:16Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was division among them.
- John 6:41At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
- 1 Cor 2:14The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- John 3:9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
- John 3:4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”
- Acts 17:32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”
- John 4:11“Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water?
- John 7:40–43On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 6:52 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.