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John 6:5–9

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,b Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wagesa to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,c spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”d

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John 6:5–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

John 6:5–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 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?

John 6:5–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

John 6:5–9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

John 6:5–9 — New Century Version (NCV)

When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough bread for all these people to eat?” (Jesus asked Philip this question to test him, because Jesus already knew what he planned to do.)

Philip answered, “Someone would have to work almost a year to buy enough bread for each person to have only a little piece.”

Another one of his followers, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish, but that is not enough for so many people.”

John 6:5–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude cometh unto him, saith unto Philip, Whence are we to buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred shillings’ worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, who hath five barley loaves, and two fishes: but what are these among so many?

John 6:5–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

Jesus then, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a great crowd is coming to him, says to Philip, Whence shall we buy loaves that these may eat? But this he said trying him, for he knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, Loaves for two hundred denarii are not sufficient for them, that each may have some little portion. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, says to him, There is a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fishes; but this, what is it for so many?

John 6:5–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

As Jesus saw a large crowd coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” Jesus asked this question to test him. He already knew what he was going to do. 

Philip answered, “We would need about a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.” 

One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him, “A boy who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish is here. But they won’t go very far for so many people.” 

John 6:5–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?” He asked this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do.

Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.”

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?”

John 6:5–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?”

John 6:5–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Then Jesus, when he looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?” (Now he said this to test him, because he knew what he was going to do.) Philip replied to him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, in order that each one could receive a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”

John 6:5–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him. So he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to put Philip to the test. He already knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, “Eight months’ pay would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Another of his disciples spoke up. It was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He said, “Here is a boy with five small loaves of barley bread. He also has two small fish. But how far will that go in such a large crowd?”

John 6:5–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”

This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”


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