Luke 9:16

16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Luke 9:16 In-Context

14 For there were about 5,000 men there. Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

15 So the people all sat down.

16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.

17 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!

18 One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”