Luke 9:16

Then ¹  he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks ²  and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people.

Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and asked God’s blessing on the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples to give to the people.

He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread and fish to the disciples to hand out to the crowd.

And he took the five cakes of bread and the two fishes and, looking up to heaven, he said words of blessing over them, and when they had been broken, he gave them to the disciples to give to the people.

And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.

Then ¹  he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks ²  and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² 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.”