In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them,
Parallel translations
- WEB In those days, when there was a very great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to himself, and said to them,
- KJV In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,
- BSB In those days the crowd once again became very large, and they had nothing to eat. Jesus called the disciples to Him and said,
- NASB In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus summoned His disciples and *said to them,
- NLT About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told 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
Faced with a large, hungry crowd, Jesus gathers his disciples to address their need. The scene sets up the feeding of the four thousand.
Overview
This second feeding miracle occurs in largely Gentile territory, signaling that Jesus' compassion and provision extend beyond Israel. That the crowd had remained with him three days shows their hunger for his teaching. Jesus' initiative in caring for them reveals a Shepherd who attends to both spiritual and physical needs.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Matt 15:32–39Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”
- Mark 6:34–44Jesus came out, saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
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 8:1 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.