Bible Strands
John 6:52
At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus has just declared He is the living bread who will give His flesh for the world's life. Immediately following this declaration, the Jews begin disputing among themselves about the literal meaning of His statement.
The words — The Greek Ἐμὴχοντο (emachonto) translates literally as "were arguing," capturing the ongoing dispute among the Jews (οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι) triggered by Jesus' claim.
The thread — This recurring pattern of Jewish division over Jesus' words appears in John 6:41, John 9:16, and John 10:19.
Why it lands — The text presents a direct confrontation between Jesus' metaphorical claim and the literal expectations of His listeners, requiring readers to determine how to respond to His assertion.
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
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Cross-references
- John 9:16 Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was division among them.
- John 10:19 Again there was division among the Jews because of Jesus’ message.
- John 6:41 At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- John 3:4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”
- John 3:9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
- John 4:11 “Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water?
- John 7:40 On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”
- Acts 17:32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”