John 6:1-35

English Standard Version

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

6 After this ^(A)Jesus went away to the other side of ^(B)the Sea of Galilee, which is ^(C)the Sea of Tiberias. ²And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. ³Jesus went up on ^(D)the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. ⁴Now ^(E)the Passover, the ^(F)feast of the Jews, was at hand. ⁵^(G)Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to ^(H)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” ⁶He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷^(I)Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii^[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” ⁸One of his disciples, ^(J)Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ⁹“There is a boy here who has five ^(K)barley loaves and two fish, but ^(L)what are they for so many?” ¹⁰Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” ^(M)Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹Jesus then took the loaves, and ^(N)when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹²And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” ¹³So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ^(O)“This is indeed ^(P)the Prophet ^(Q)who is to come into the world!”

¹⁵^(R)Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus ^(S)withdrew again to ^(T)the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on Water

¹⁶When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[b] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. ²⁰^(U)But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

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 ^(V)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 ^(W)had given thanks. ²⁴^(X)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and ^(Y)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

²⁵When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ^(Z)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AA)you are seeking me, not because you saw ^(AB)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷^(AC)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for ^(AD)the food that endures to eternal life, which ^(AE)the Son of Man will give to you. For on ^(AF)him God the Father has ^(AG)set his seal.” ²⁸Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing ^(AH)the works of God?” ²⁹Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, ^(AI)that you believe in him whom ^(AJ)he has sent.” ³⁰So they said to him, ^(AK)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ³¹^(AL)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ^(AM)‘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 ^(AN)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴They said to him, ^(AO)“Sir, give us this bread always.”