The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
Parallel translations
- WEB The disciples said to him, “Where should we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
- KJV And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
- 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 replied, “Where in this desolate place could anyone find enough bread to feed all these people?”
- Matt 14:15When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
- John 6:5–9When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”
- Mark 6:37But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked Him, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?”
- Luke 9:13But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”
- 2 Kgs 4:42–44Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha.
- Num 11:21–22But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a 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.