Bible Strands
John 6:50
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus tells the crowd that the bread descending from heaven exists so anyone may eat it and not die. He speaks this immediately after noting that their ancestors ate manna in the wilderness yet died.
The words — The Greek phrase ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ho artos ho ek tou ouranou) literally renders "the bread the from the heaven." This syntax marks the bread's origin as divine rather than agricultural.
The thread — The descent of heavenly bread to impart life appears in John 6:33, which identifies the bread of God as coming down from heaven to give life to the world. John 6:51 immediately follows with the explicit promise that eating this bread results in eternal life.
Why it lands — The text states that physical consumption cannot prevent death, directing attention to a heavenly source. It requires the reader to identify what they are relying on for sustenance and to accept the offer without restriction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Cross-references
- John 6:33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
- Romans 8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
- John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
- John 6:58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
- John 8:51 Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”
- John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
- John 6:42 They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
- John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.