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.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus speaks to the Twelve disciples as the day nears its end and the crowd remains in a desolate place. He commands them to feed the people instead of dismissing them to the surrounding villages for lodging and provisions.

The words — The text records δότε (dote), meaning "do give," issued to ὑμεῖς (humeis), "you yourselves." This phrasing places the responsibility for provision directly on the disciples.

The thread — The command parallels the feeding accounts in John 6:5 and the provision miracle in 2 Kings 4:42. It also stands in tension with the wisdom principle in Proverbs 11:24 regarding the consequences of giving.

Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to confront human limitation when faced with an impossible need. It demands immediate action with available resources rather than retreat or complaint.

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

But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.

Cross-references

Proverbs 11:24 One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
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.
John 6:5 When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”
Mark 6:37 But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked Him, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?”
Matthew 14:16 “They do not need to go away,” Jesus replied. “You give them something to eat.”
Numbers 11:21 But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’