Luke 9:12

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.

Luke 9:12 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:12

When the day began to wear away
Or "to decline", as the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions; or "to incline", as the Syriac; that is, as the Ethiopic version renders it, "when the sun was declining" towards the "horizon" and was almost set; or "when the evening time was come", as the Persic version:

then came the twelve;
that is, "the disciples", as the Persic version; or "his disciples", as the Syriac: and

said unto him, send the multitude away, that they may go into the
towns and country round about;
the place where they were, round about the city of Bethsaida, the several adjacent houses in the fields, villages, towns, and cities:

and lodge, and get victuals;
where they might have lodging for that night, it being too far for them to reach their habitations that evening; and also that they might provide themselves with proper and sufficient food, which was not to be had in the place where they were:

for we are here in a desert place;
which afforded no conveniency for lodging, nor any supply of food.

Luke 9:12 In-Context

10 And [when they] returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along [and] withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.
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."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("came up") has been translated as a finite verb
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.