Bible Strands
John 6:9
“Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Andrew reports to Jesus what he found in response to the question of feeding the crowd, appending his own verdict that the amount is negligible.
The words — παιδάριον (paidarion), a diminutive of παιδάς, renders "a little boy," sharpening the smallness Andrew is pointing at.
The thread — The same five loaves and two fish appear in Matthew 14:17 and Mark 6:38; the pattern of a small provision feeding a large crowd echoes 2 Kings 4:42.
Why it lands — It forces the reader to sit inside the arithmetic of insufficiency before the miracle, making "what difference will these make?" a mirror for every time we judge a resource too small to matter.
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
There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 4:42 Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha.
- Matthew 14:17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
- Mark 6:38 “Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them. And after checking, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
- Luke 9:13 But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”
- Psalms 78:19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
- Matthew 16:9 Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?
- Mark 8:19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you collect?” “Twelve,” they answered.
- Deuteronomy 8:8 a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey;
- Psalms 81:16 But I would feed you the finest wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
- Psalms 147:14 He makes peace at your borders; He fills you with the finest wheat.