Luke 9:13

13 But he said to them, "You give them [something] to eat!" And they said, "{We have no} more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go [and] purchase food for all these people."

Luke 9:13 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:13

And he said to them, give ye them to eat
Signifying, that it was not his will to dismiss people, and send them scattering abroad into the adjacent cities, towns, or houses; and that there was no need of it, but that his will was, that they should be supplied with provisions out of their stock:

and they said, we have no more than five loaves and two fishes;
and these loaves were barley loaves, and the fishes small, ( John 6:9 )

except we should go and buy meat for all this people;
which would at least cost them two hundred pence; and which they represent as impossible to be done, either through want of so much money, or the scarcity of provision in those parts; where, had they money, it would be difficult, at least to get such a quantity of provisions at once, which so great a number of persons required.

Luke 9:13 In-Context

11 But [when] the crowds found out, they followed him, and welcoming them, he began to speak to them about the kingdom of God, and he cured those who had need of healing.

12 Now the day began to be far spent, and the twelve came up [and] said to him, "Send away the crowd so that they can go into the surrounding villages and farms to obtain lodging and find provisions, because we are here in a desolate place.

13 But he said to them, "You give them [something] to eat!" And they said, "{We have no} more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go [and] purchase food for all these people."

14 (For there were about five thousand men.) So he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."

15 And they did so, and had [them] all sit down.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "there is not to us"
• [b]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("go") has been translated as a finite verb