Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
Parallel translations
- WEB Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.”
- BSB Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piece.”
- NKJV Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”
- NASB Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!”
- NLT Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”
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
Philip replied that even two hundred denarii of bread would not give each a little. He measures the need by human means and finds it impossible.
Overview
Philip's answer, naming about eight months' wages, underscores the hopelessness of meeting the need through ordinary resources. His response highlights human inability before the miracle. It magnifies the glory of Christ, who is about to supply abundantly what no human effort could provide.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Mark 6:37He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
- Num 11:21–22And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
- John 12:5Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
- 2 Kgs 4:43And 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.
- Matt 18:28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
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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.
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Original language
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