The disciples said to him, “Where should we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
Parallel translations
- KJV And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
- BSB The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
- NKJV Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”
- NASB The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”
- NLT The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
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 wonder where they could find enough bread in such a remote place. It matters because their question highlights human inability before Christ's provision.
Overview
Despite having seen the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples again see only the impossibility of the situation. Their question exposes how slow even believers are to trust Christ's power. The remote setting underscores that the coming miracle is entirely God's doing. Their limitation becomes the backdrop against which Jesus' sufficiency shines.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Mark 8:4–5His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”
- Matt 14:15When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, “This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.”
- 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 6:37But 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?”
- 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.”
- 2 Kgs 4:42–44A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God bread some of the first fruits: twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, “Give to the people, that they may eat.”
- Num 11:21–22Moses 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.’
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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 15:33 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.