And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?
Parallel translations
- WEB His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”
- BSB His disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could anyone find enough bread to feed all these people?”
- NKJV Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”
- NASB And His disciples replied to Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”
- NLT His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”
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 doubt how anyone could feed such a crowd in the wilderness. Their question exposes how quickly they forget Jesus' power.
Overview
Strikingly, the disciples ask this despite having witnessed the feeding of the five thousand. Their forgetfulness mirrors Israel's repeated doubt in the wilderness and our own tendency to limit God by present circumstances. The scene sets the stage for Jesus to display again that he is the all-sufficient provider.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Mark 6:52For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
- Matt 15:33And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
- Ps 78:19–20Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
- Mark 6:36–37Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
- John 6:7–9Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
- 2 Kgs 7:2Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
- Num 11:21–23And 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.
- 2 Kgs 4:42–44And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.
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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 8:4 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.