Luke 9:13

9:13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish – unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

Luke 9:16

9:16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.


tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

tn Grk “said.”

tn This possibility is introduced through a conditional clause, but it is expressed with some skepticism (BDF §376).

tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

sn Not only would going and buying food have been expensive and awkward at this late time of day, it would have taken quite a logistical effort to get the food back out to this isolated location.

tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

sn Gave thanks adds a note of gratitude to the setting. The scene is like two other later meals: Luke 22:19 and 24:30. Jesus gives thanks to God “with respect to” the provision of food. The disciples learn how Jesus is the mediator of blessing. John 6 speaks of him in this scene as picturing the “Bread of Life.”