Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14

Mark 6:30-44

30 Those who had been sent out rejoined Yeshua and reported to him all they had done and taught.

31 There were so many people coming and going that they couldn't even take time to eat, so he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a place where we can be alone, and you can get some rest."

32 They went off by themselves to an isolated spot;

33 but many people, seeing them leave and recognizing them, ran ahead on foot from all the towns and got there first.

34 When Yeshua came ashore, he saw a huge crowd. Filled with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, he began teaching them many things.

35 By this time, the hour was late. The talmidim came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's getting late.

36 Send the people away, so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the farms and towns around here."

37 But he answered them, "Give them something to eat, yourselves!" They replied, "We are to go and spend thousands on bread, and give it to them to eat?"

38 He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and check." When they had found out, they said, "Five. And two fish."

39 Then he ordered all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass.

40 They sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.

41 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up toward heaven, made a b'rakhah. Next he broke up the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute. He also divided up the two fish among them all.

42 They all ate as much as they wanted,

43 and they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces and fish.

44 Those who ate the loaves numbered five thousand men.

Luke 9:10-17

10 On their return, the emissaries detailed to Yeshua what they had done. Then, taking them with him, he withdrew by himself to a town called Beit-Tzaidah.

11 But the crowds found out and followed him. Welcoming them, he went on to speak to them about the Kingdom of God and to heal those who needed to be healed.

12 The day began to draw to a close. The Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away, so that they can go and get lodging and food in the towns and farms around here, because where we are is a remote place."

13 But he said to them, "Give them something to eat, yourselves!" They said, "We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish -- unless we ourselves are supposed to go and buy food for all these people!"

14 (For there were about five thousand men.) He said to his talmidim, "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each."

15 They did what he told them and had them all sit down.

16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a b'rakhah, broke the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute to the crowd.

17 Everyone ate as much as he wanted; and they took up what was left over, twelve baskets full of broken pieces.

John 6:1-14

1 Some time later, Yeshua went over to the far side of Lake Kinneret (that is, Lake Tiberias),

2 and a large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miracles he had performed on the sick.

3 Yeshua went up into the hills and sat down there with his talmidim.

4 Now the Judean festival of Pesach was coming up;

5 so when Yeshua looked up and saw that a large crowd was approaching, he said to Philip, "Where will we be able to buy bread, so that these people can eat?"

6 (Now Yeshua said this to test Philip, for Yeshua himself knew what he was about to do.)

7 Philip answered, "Half a year's wages wouldn't buy enough bread for them -- each one would get only a bite!"

8 One of the talmidim, Andrew the brother of Shim`on Kefa, said to him,

9 "There's a young fellow here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But how far will they go among so many?"

10 Yeshua said, "Have the people sit down." There was a lot of grass there, so they sat down. The number of men was about five thousand.

11 Then Yeshua took the loaves of bread, and, after making a b'rakhah, gave to all who were sitting there, and likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted.

12 After they had eaten their fill, he told his talmidim, "Gather the leftover pieces, so that nothing gets wasted."

13 They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

14 When the people saw the miracle he had performed, they said, "This has to be `the prophet' who is supposed to come into the world."