Luke 9:13

13 He replied, " You give them something to eat." But they said, "We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy 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 When the crowds figured it out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about God's kingdom, and healed those who were sick.

12 When the day was almost over, the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so that they can go to the nearby villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in a deserted place."

13 He replied, "You give them something to eat." But they said, "We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all these people."

14 (They said this because about five thousand men were present.) Jesus said to his disciples, "Seat them in groups of about fifty."

15 They did so, and everyone was seated.