Mark 6:38
in Mark 6“Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them. And after checking, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
KJV
He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
⋯
This verse in Mark 6
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(ubi sup.) Again, in a mystical sense, the Saviour refreshes the hungry crowds at the day's decline, because, either now that the end of the world approaches, or now that the Sun of justice has set in death for us, we are saved from wasting away in spiritual hunger. He calls the Apostles to Him at the breaking of bread, intimating that daily by them our hungry souls are fed, that is, by their letters and examples. By the five loaves are figured the Five Books of Moses, by the two fishes the Psalms and Prophets.
This site's exposition
You give them something to eat
on Mark 6:37-38
Jesus answers their plan with a command they cannot meet, You give them something to eat. They ask whether they should spend two hundred denarii, roughly eight months' wages for a laborer, and He sends them to take stock: Go and see how many loaves you have. They find five loaves and two fish, the small supply every Gospel account of this miracle keeps.
This site's exposition
Go and see how many loaves you have
Augustine notes that only Mark records this command to go and look. John 6:8 to 9 fills in the answer, with Andrew pointing to a boy who had five barley loaves and two small fish. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call John's account the fuller one.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Con. Evan. 2. 46) It goes on, And he saith unto them, How many loaves hare ye? go and see. The other Evangelists pass over this being done by the Lord. It goes on, And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. This, which was suggested by Andrew, as we learn from John, the other Evangelists, using the plural for the singular, have put into the mouth of the disciples.
Five loaves and fishes two he orders placed As food before the people thronging round Their master, by their hunger undeterred, Who mindful not of food forgot their towns, Their forts, their markets, hamlets, trading-posts And cities, glad to feed upon his words. The festive …
The Medieval Church2 voices
And he says to them: How many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they knew, they said: Five, and two fish. By the five loaves of the Apostles, and two fish, the whole scripture of the Old Testament is signified. By the …
(ubi sup.) By these words He calls on His Apostles, to break bread for the people, that they might be able to testify that they had no bread, and thus the greatness of the miracle might become more known.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he saith unto them, how many loaves have ye?....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes--John is more precise and full: "One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto Him, There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" (Joh 6:8, 9).
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
Of all our Lord Jesus Christ's miracles, none is so frequently described in the Gospels, as that which we have now read. Each of the four Evangelists was inspired to record it. It is evident that it demands a more than ordinary attention from every reader of God's word. Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage, what an example this miracle affords of our Lord Jesus Christ's almighty POWER . We are told that He fed five thousand men, with five loaves and two fish. We are distinctly told that this multitude had nothing to eat.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
Of all our Lord Jesus Christ's miracles, none is so frequently described in the Gospels, as that which we have now read. Each of the four Evangelists was inspired to record it. It is evident that it demands a more than ordinary attention from every reader of God's word. Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage, what an example this miracle affords of our Lord Jesus Christ's almighty POWER . We are told that He fed five thousand men, with five loaves and two fish. We are distinctly told that this multitude had nothing to eat. We are no less distinctly told that the whole provision for their sustenance consisted of only five loaves and two fish. And yet we read that our Lord took these loaves and fish, blessed, broke, and gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And the conclusion of the narrative tells us, that "they ate, and were filled," and that "twelve baskets full of fragments" were taken up. Here was creative power, beyond all question. Something real, solid, substantial, must manifestly have been called into being, which did not before exist. There is no room left for the theory, that the people were under the influence of an optical delusion, or a heated imagination. Five thousand hungry people would never have been satisfied, if they had not received into their mouths material bread. Twelve baskets full of fragments would never have been taken up, if the five loaves had not been miraculously multiplied. In short, it is plain that the hand of Him who made the world out of nothing was present on this occasion. None but He who at the first created all things, and sent down manna in the desert, could thus have "spread a table in the wilderness." It becomes all true Christians to store up facts like these in their minds, and to remember them in time of need. We live in the midst of an evil world, and see few with us, and many against us.
The words behind it
16 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | And | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| λέγει | legei | He says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| αὐτοῖς· | autois | to them; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| πόσους | posous | How many | G4214 → | 27 times |
| ἄρτους | artous | loaves | G740 → | 97 times |
| ἔχετε; | echete | have you | G2192 → | 707 times |
| ὑπάγετε | hupagete | do go | G5217 → | 79 times |
| ἴδετε. | idete | do see. | G1492 → | 374 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| γνόντες | gnontes | having known | G1097 → | 221 times |
| λέγουσιν· | legousin | they say; | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| πέντε | pente | Five | G4002 → | 38 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| δύο | duo | two | G1417 → | 133 times |
| ἰχθύας. | ichthuas | fish. | G2486 → | 20 times |
Ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲAnd
deG1161 →2765 times
λέγειHe says
legeiG3004 →1325 times
αὐτοῖς·to them;
autoisG846 →5565 times
πόσουςHow many
posousG4214 →27 times
ἄρτουςloaves
artousG740 →97 times
ἔχετε;have you
echeteG2192 →707 times
ὑπάγετεdo go
hupageteG5217 →79 times
ἴδετε.do see.
ideteG1492 →374 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
γνόντεςhaving known
gnontesG1097 →221 times
λέγουσιν·they say;
legousinG3004 →1325 times
πέντεFive
penteG4002 →38 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
δύοtwo
duoG1417 →133 times
ἰχθύας.fish.
ichthuasG2486 →20 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 6:9“Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”
it leads to
- 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.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 4:42–44
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.
- Psalms 78:19
They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
- 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.
- Luke 9:13
Through
Luke 9:13But 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.”
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:24–25
One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
- John 6:5–9
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?”
- 2 Kings 4:42–43
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.
- Proverbs 11:24–25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Mark

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Prudentius, A HYMN ON THE TRINITY.
