Luke 9:16

16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.

Luke 9:16 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:16

Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes
Into his hands, being brought him by the disciples from the lad that had them:

and looking up to heaven:
to his Father there, from whom all the mercies and blessings of life come;

he blessed them;
either asked, or commanded a blessing on them, that they might multiply and increase, that there might be a sufficiency for all the people, and that, they might be nourishing to them. Beza observes, that in his most ancient copy, it is read, "he blessed upon them"; which perfectly agrees with the Jewish way of speaking, (tph le Kdb) "he that blesseth upon the bread"; (Nyyh le Krb) "he that blesseth upon the wine"; and so upon the fruits of trees, and upon the fruits of the earth, and upon other things F19;

and brake;
the loaves, and divided the fishes into parts:

and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude;
as they sat in ranks, and in their distinct companies.


FOOTNOTES:

F19 Misn. Beracot, c. 6. sect. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7.

Luke 9:16 In-Context

14 (There were about five thousand men there.) Jesus said to his disciples, "Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each."
15 After the disciples had done so,
16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.
17 They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.
18 One day when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples came to him. "Who do the crowds say I am?" he asked them.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.