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They all ate, and were filled.
Mark 6:42 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And they did all eat, and were filled.
  • BSB They all ate and were satisfied,
  • NKJV So they all ate and were filled.
  • NASB And they all ate and were satisfied;
  • NLT They all ate as much as they wanted,

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

Everyone ate and was satisfied. The miracle fully met the people's need, displaying Christ's abundant provision.

Overview

Not merely a token, the meal left the whole multitude filled. The complete satisfaction of thousands testifies to the reality and sufficiency of Jesus' provision. It foreshadows the deeper satisfaction He gives to all who come to Him, for whoever feeds on Him will never hunger (John 6:35).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Mark 8:8–9They ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
  • Luke 9:17They ate, and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
  • John 6:12When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.”
  • Matt 15:37–38They all ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.
  • Matt 14:20–21They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces.
  • 2 Kgs 4:42–44A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God bread some of the first fruits: twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, “Give to the people, that they may eat.”
  • Deut 8:3He humbled you, and allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know; that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.
  • Ps 145:15–16The eyes of all wait for you. You give them their food in due season.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 6:42YouTube · 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 MarkMatthew 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

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 6:42 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.