Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.
Parallel translations
- WEB They forgot to take bread; and they didn’t have more than one loaf in the boat with them.
- KJV Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
- BSB Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
- NASB And the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.
- NLT But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat.
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 disciples realize they brought only one loaf for the journey. This sets up a lesson about spiritual perception.
Overview
Mark notes their lack of bread to highlight the irony that follows: men who had twice seen Jesus multiply loaves worry about a single one. The detail exposes how easily anxiety over physical needs eclipses memory of God's provision. It prepares for Jesus' warning and his probing of their dull hearts.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Matt 16:5The disciples came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 8:14 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.