Matthew 14:15-17

14:15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place ¹  and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 14:16 But he ²  replied, “They don’t need to go. You ³  give them something to eat.” 14:17 They ⁴  said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

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¹ tn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).

² tc ‡ The majority of witnesses read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) here, perhaps to clarify the subject. Although only a few Greek mss, along with several versional witnesses (א* D Z^vid 579 1424 pc e k sy^s,c,p sa bo), lack the name of Jesus, the omission does not seem to be either accidental or malicious and is therefore judged to be most likely the original reading. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

³ tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.