Luke 9:16

16 Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish, and looking up to heaven, he thanked God for the food. Then he divided the food and gave it to the followers to give 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 followers, "Tell the people to sit in groups of about fifty people."
15 So the followers did this, and all the people sat down.
16 Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish, and looking up to heaven, he thanked God for the food. Then he divided the food and gave it to the followers to give to the people.
17 They all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was gathered up, filling twelve baskets.
18 One time when Jesus was praying alone, his followers were with him, and he asked them, "Who do the people say I am?"
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.