Bible Strands
Matthew 16:7
They discussed this among themselves and concluded, “It is because we did not bring any bread.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The disciples speak to one another immediately after Jesus warns them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They reduce his spiritual warning to a literal complaint about their missing provisions.
The words — διελογὸζοντο (dielogizonto) means they were reasoning or discussing among themselves. ἄρτους (artous) translates literally to bread, the physical item they mistakenly assume Jesus is addressing.
The thread — This pattern of mistaking spiritual instruction for material lack appears in Mark 8:16, where the disciples similarly debate having no bread, and in Matthew 15:16, where Jesus questions their continued failure to understand.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to identify when they are substituting logistical anxiety for spiritual attention. The verse demands a direct confrontation with whether one is listening to Jesus' actual words or inventing their own problems.
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
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
Cross-references
- Mark 8:16 So they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.
- Matthew 15:16 “Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.
- Mark 9:10 So they kept this matter to themselves, discussing what it meant to rise from the dead.
- Luke 9:46 Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.
- Acts 10:14 “No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”