Mark 6:39

Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus instructs his disciples to arrange the crowd to recline on the grass immediately after they report finding five loaves and two fish. This directive precedes the feeding miracle and follows the disciples' inventory of available provisions.

The words — The Greek ἐπετάξεν (epetaxen) translates literally as "He commanded," and συμπόσια (sumposia) means "groups" or "banquet parties." The text records Jesus issuing a direct order for the people to recline in organized clusters.

The thread — The text parallels Matthew 15:35, where Jesus instructs a crowd to sit on the ground, and aligns with the structural principles of 1 Corinthians 14:33 and 1 Corinthians 14:40. The narrative presents organized gathering as a repeated biblical pattern before divine action.

Why it lands — The verse requires readers to acknowledge that practical order precedes miraculous provision. It demands that believers arrange their circumstances systematically rather than expecting divine intervention to bypass human preparation.

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

καὶkaiAnd ἐπέταξενepetaxenHe commanded αὐτοῖςautoisthem ἀνακλῖναιanaklinaito recline πάνταςpantasall συμπόσιαsumposiagroups συμπόσιαsumposia[by] groups ἐπὶepion τῷtōthe χλωρῷchlōrōgreen χόρτῳ.chortōgrass.

King James Version

And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.

Cross-references

Matthew 15:35 And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints.
1 Corinthians 14:40 But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner.
1 Kings 10:5 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
Esther 1:5 At the end of this time, in the garden court of the royal palace, the king held a seven-day feast for all the people in the citadel of Susa, from the least to the greatest.