They told him, “We only have here five loaves and two fish.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
- BSB “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
- NKJV And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
- NASB They *said to Him, “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish.”
- NLT “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.
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 reply that they have only five loaves and two fish. Their meager resources seem hopelessly inadequate.
Overview
Faced with the impossible task, the disciples report their tiny supply of five loaves and two fish. Their honest assessment underscores the gap between the need and their ability to meet it. This small offering, placed in Jesus' hands, becomes the means through which His miraculous abundance is revealed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Luke 9:13But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people.”
- John 6:5–9Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”
- Mark 6:37–38But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them something to eat?”
- Matt 15:33–34The disciples said to him, “Where should we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
- Mark 8:4–5His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”
- Matt 16:9Don’t you yet perceive, neither remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?
- Ps 78:19–20Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
- Num 11:21–23Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot; and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 14:17 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.