John 6:22-71

English Standard Version

I Am the Bread of Life

²²On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only ^(A)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. ²³Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord ^(B)had given thanks. ²⁴^(C)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and ^(D)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

²⁵When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ^(E)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(F)you are seeking me, not because you saw ^(G)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷^(H)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for ^(I)the food that endures to eternal life, which ^(J)the Son of Man will give to you. For on ^(K)him God the Father has ^(L)set his seal.” ²⁸Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing ^(M)the works of God?” ²⁹Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, ^(N)that you believe in him whom ^(O)he has sent.” ³⁰So they said to him, ^(P)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ³¹^(Q)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ^(R)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³²Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is ^(S)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴They said to him, ^(T)“Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵Jesus said to them, ^(U)“I am the bread of life; ^(V)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ³⁷^(W)All that ^(X)the Father gives me will come to me, and ^(Y)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸For ^(Z)I have come down from heaven, not to do ^(AA)my own will but ^(AB)the will of him ^(AC)who sent me. ³⁹And ^(AD)this is the will of him who sent me, ^(AE)that I should lose nothing of ^(AF)all that he has given me, but ^(AG)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who ^(AH)looks on the Son and ^(AI)believes in him ^(AJ)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ^(AK)“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴²They said, ^(AL)“Is not this Jesus, ^(AM)the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(AN)we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me ^(AO)draws him. And ^(AP)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets, ^(AQ)‘And they will all be ^(AR)taught by God.’ ^(AS)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ⁴⁶^(AT)not that anyone has seen the Father except ^(AU)he who is from God; he ^(AV)has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AW)whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸^(AX)I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹^(AY)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and ^(AZ)they died. ⁵⁰^(BA)This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it ^(BB)and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread ^(BC)that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give ^(BD)for the life of the world is ^(BE)my flesh.”

⁵²The Jews then ^(BF)disputed among themselves, saying, ^(BG)“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(BH)the Son of Man and drink his blood, you ^(BI)have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(BJ)has eternal life, and ^(BK)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(BL)abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As ^(BM)the living Father ^(BN)sent me, and ^(BO)I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. ⁵⁸^(BP)This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread^[a] the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹Jesus^[b] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught ^(BQ)at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

⁶⁰^(BR)When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹But Jesus, ^(BS)knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? ⁶²Then what if you were to see ^(BT)the Son of Man ^(BU)ascending to ^(BV)where he was before? ⁶³^(BW)It is the Spirit who gives life; ^(BX)the flesh is no help at all. ^(BY)The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴But ^(BZ)there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus ^(CA)knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and ^(CB)who it was who would betray him.) ⁶⁵And he said, “This is why I told you ^(CC)that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

⁶⁶^(CD)After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. ⁶⁷So Jesus said to ^(CE)the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(CF)the words of eternal life, ⁶⁹and ^(CG)we have believed, and have come to know, that ^(CH)you are ^(CI)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰Jesus answered them, ^(CJ)“Did I not choose you, ^(CK)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(CL)a devil.” ⁷¹He spoke of Judas ^(CM)the son of Simon Iscariot, for ^(CN)he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.