About four thousand men were there; and He dismissed them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Those who had eaten were about four thousand. Then he sent them away.
- KJV And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
- BSB And about four thousand men were present. As soon as Jesus had dismissed the crowd,
- NKJV Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away,
- NLT There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten.
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
About four thousand were fed before Jesus dismissed them. The number underscores the scale of the miracle.
Overview
Mark records the number to confirm the magnitude of what Jesus accomplished from seven loaves. Set in Gentile territory, this feeding signals that the Messiah's bread is for all peoples, not Israel alone. It anticipates the gospel going to the nations, where Christ satisfies Jew and Gentile alike.
Cross-references & the web
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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 8:9 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.