MARK 8:6 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And he commands the crowd to recline on the ground, and having taken the seven loaves, having given thanks, he broke them and was giving them to his disciples so that they might set them before them, and they set them before the crowd.

UST Then Jesus told the large group of people to sit down on the ground. He picked up the seven loaves of bread. Then he thanked God for the food. After that, he tore the bread into pieces and gave the pieces to his apprentices. That way, they could serve them to the large group of people, which they did.

BSB And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves, gave thanks [and] broke [them], and gave [them] to His disciples to set before [the people]. And they distributed [them] to the crowd.

MSB And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves, gave thanks [and] broke [them], and gave [them] to His disciples to set before [the people]. And they distributed [them] to the crowd.

BLB And He directs the crowd to recline on the ground. And having taken the seven loaves, having given thanks, He broke them and kept giving them to His disciples, that they might set before them. And they set it before the crowd.

AICNT And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd.

OEB Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, and, after saying the thanksgiving, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to serve out; and they served them out to the crowd.

WEBBE He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves. Having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to serve, and they served the multitude.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. After he took the seven loaves and gave thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples to serve. So they served the crowd.

LSV And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and having taken the seven loaves, having given thanks, He broke, and was giving to His disciples that they may set before [them]; and they set before the multitude.

FBV He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves of bread, and gave thanks. He broke the bread and handed the pieces to his disciples to give to the crowd.

TCNT So he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground, and taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they set them before the crowd.

T4T Jesus commanded the crowd, “Sit down on the ground!” After they sat down, he took the seven loaves, he thanked God for them, he broke them into pieces and started giving them to his disciples in order that they might distribute them to the people.

LEB And he commanded the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, and taking the seven loaves, after he[fn] had given thanks he broke them[fn] and began giving[fn] them[fn] to his disciples so that they could set them[fn] before them.[fn] And they set them[fn] before the crowd.

8:6 *Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal

8:6 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

8:6 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began giving”)

8:6 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

BBE And he made the people be seated on the earth: and he took the seven cakes and, having given praise, he gave the broken bread to his disciples to put before them; and they put it before the people.

Moff So he ordered the crowd to recline on the ground, and taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to serve out. They served them out to the crowd,

Wymth So He passed the word to the people to sit down on the ground. Then taking the seven loaves He blessed them, and broke them into portions and proceeded to give them to His disciples for them to distribute, and they distributed them to the people.

ASV And he commandeth the multitude to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.

DRA And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, he broke, and gave to his disciples for to set before them; and they set them before the people.

YLT And he commanded the multitude to sit down upon the ground, and having taken the seven loaves, having given thanks, he brake, and was giving to his disciples that they may set before [them]; and they did set before the multitude.

Drby And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. And having taken the seven loaves, he gave thanks, and broke [them] and gave [them] to his disciples, that they might set [them] before [them]; and they set [them] before the crowd.

RV And he commandeth the multitude to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.
(And he commandeth/commands the multitude to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. )

SLT And he enjoined to the crowd to recline upon the earth: and having taken the seven loaves, having returned thanks, he brake, and he gave to his disciples that they might set before; and they set before the crowd.

Wbstr And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and broke, and gave to his disciples to set before them ; and they set them before the people.

KJB-1769 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.

KJB-1611 And he commanded the people to sit downe on the ground: and he tooke the seuen loaues, and gaue thanks, and brake, and gaue to his disciples to set before them: and they did set them before the people.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps And he commaunded the people to sit downe on the grounde: And he toke the seuen loaues, and when he had geuen thankes, he brake, and gaue to his disciples, to set before them: And they dyd set them before the people.
(And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: And he took the seven loaves, and when he had given thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, to set before them: And they did set them before the people.)

Gnva Then he commanded the multitude to sit downe on the grounde: and hee tooke the seuen loaues, and gaue thankes, brake them, and gaue to his disciples to set before them, and they did set them before the people.
(Then he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, brake them, and gave to his disciples to set before them, and they did set them before the people. )

Cvdl And he commaunded the people to syt downe vpon the grounde. And he toke the seuen loaues, and gaue thakes, and brake them, and gaue the vnto his disciples to set them before the people. And they set the before the people.
(And he commanded the people to sit down upon the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave the unto his disciples to set them before the people. And they set the before the people.)

TNT And he commaunded the people to syt doune on the grounde. And he toke the .vii. loves gave thankes brake and gave to his disciples to set before them. And they dyd set the before the people.
(And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground. And he took the 7 loves gave thanks brake and gave to his disciples to set before them. And they did set the before the people. )

Wycl Whiche seiden, Seuene. And he comaundide the puple to sitte doun on the erthe. And he took the seuene looues, and dide thankyngis, and brak, and yaf to hise disciplis, that thei schulden sette forth. And thei settiden forth to the puple.
(Which said, Seuene. And he commanded the people to sit down on the earth. And he took the seven loaves, and did thankings, and broke, and gave to his disciples, that they should set forth. And they set/placed forth to the people.)

Luth Und er gebot dem Volk, daß sie sich auf die Erde lagerten. Und er nahm die sieben Brote und dankete und brach sie und gab sie seinen Jüngern, daß sie dieselbigen vorlegten; und sie legten dem Volk vor.
(And he commanded to_him people, that they/she/them itself/yourself/themselves on/in/to the earth/land/ground stored. And he took the seven breads and thanked and broke they/she/them and gave they/she/them his disciples, that they/she/them the_same presented; and they/she/them laid to_him people before/in_front_of.)

ClVg Et præcepit turbæ discumbere super terram. Et accipiens septem panes, gratias agens fregit, et dabat discipulis suis ut apponerent, et apposuerunt turbæ.[fn]
(And ordered to_the_crowd discumbere over the_earth/land. And accepting seven bread/food, graces striking broke, and gave students to_his_own as apthey_would_put, and apposuerunt to_the_crowd. )

8.6 Super terram. BEDA. In refectione quinque panum turba supra fenum discubuit; quæ autem septem panibus reficienda est, super terram discumbere præcipitur: quia per legem carnis, etc., usque ad hic autem remota omni cupiditate carnali convivas Novi Testamenti spei permanentis firmamentum tanquam ipsius montis soliditas nullo feno interposito continet.

8.6 Above/Over the_earth/land. BEDA. In refectione five bread/food crowd above hay/rate(n) discubuit; which however seven bread reficienda it_is, over the_earth/land discumbere is_ordered: because through the_law of_flesh, etc., until to this/here however remota all with_desire carnal convivas I_know Testamenti hope permanentis firmament/support as_if of_his/her_own mountain soliditas with_no_one feno interposito contains.

UGNT καὶ παραγγέλλει τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους, εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα παρατιθῶσιν, καὶ παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ.
(kai parangellei tōi oⱪlōi anapesein epi taʸs gaʸs. kai labōn tous hepta artous, euⱪaristaʸsas eklasen kai edidou tois mathaʸtais autou, hina paratithōsin, kai parethaʸkan tōi oⱪlōi.)

SBL-GNT καὶ ⸀παραγγέλλει τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα ⸀παρατιθῶσιν καὶ παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ.
(kai ⸀parangellei tōi oⱪlōi anapesein epi taʸs gaʸs; kai labōn tous hepta artous euⱪaristaʸsas eklasen kai edidou tois mathaʸtais autou hina ⸀paratithōsin kai parethaʸkan tōi oⱪlōi.)

RP-GNT Καὶ παρήγγειλεν τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους, εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα παραθῶσιν· καὶ παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ.
(Kai paraʸngeilen tōi oⱪlōi anapesein epi taʸs gaʸs; kai labōn tous hepta artous, euⱪaristaʸsas eklasen kai edidou tois mathaʸtais autou, hina parathōsin; kai parethaʸkan tōi oⱪlōi.)

TC-GNT Καὶ [fn]παρήγγειλε τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους, [fn]εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασε καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα [fn]παραθῶσι· καὶ παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ.
(Kai paraʸngeile tōi oⱪlōi anapesein epi taʸs gaʸs; kai labōn tous hepta artous, euⱪaristaʸsas eklase kai edidou tois mathaʸtais autou, hina parathōsi; kai parethaʸkan tōi oⱪlōi. )

8:6 παρηγγειλε ¦ παραγγελλει CT

8:6 ευχαριστησας ¦ και ευχαριστησας PCK

8:6 παραθωσι ¦ παρατιθωσι ANT CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:1–10: Jesus did a miracle to feed four thousand people

In the previous section, Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could not speak clearly. People quickly spread the news about this miracle throughout the Decapolis area. As a result, many other people came to Jesus. Most of these people were probably Gentiles. They stayed with Jesus for three days. This section is about how Jesus felt compassion for them and miraculously fed them.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand People (GNT)

Jesus multiplied a small amount of food to feed four thousand people

Jesus fed four thousand people in a miraculous way

There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 15:32–39.

Paragraph 8:6–10

In this paragraph, Jesus told the crowd to sit down. He said a prayer of thanksgiving for the bread and the fish. Then he asked the disciples to give the food to the people. Jesus performed a miracle by feeding four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and a few fish.

8:6a

And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.

¶ Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
¶ So Jesus directed the people to sit down.
¶ Jesus told the crowd, “Sit down on the ground,” and they sat down.

And: In Greek, 8:6 begins with a common conjunction that the BSB translates as And. Here it introduces what Jesus did next. Some other English versions do not translate this word.

Here are some other ways to translate it:

Then (NET)

So (NLT)

He instructed the crowd to sit down: The Greek word that the BSB translates as instructed is literally “gives orders.” It indicates that Jesus was giving instructions to the large crowd. Your translation of the word instructed should not suggest that Jesus was speaking harshly to the people.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

told the crowd to sit down (NIV11)

directed the crowd to sit down (NET)

In some languages it may be more natural to use a causative expression for this phrase. For example:

caused the people to sit down

to sit down: The Greek word that the BSB translates as sit down is literally to “recline.” Jewish people usually lay on one side when they ate. You may want to use the usual position that people use when they eat in your culture, as most English versions do.

on the ground: Jesus told the people to sit on the ground because he was about to give them food. Because they were in the wilderness, they had to sit on the ground. In some languages it may be unnecessary to specify that they sat on the ground, since it may be clear from the context. If that is true in your language, you may leave this phrase implicit. For example:

He told the people to sit down

8:6b

Then He took the seven loaves, gave thanks

When Jesus had taken the seven loaves of bread, he gave thanks,
After that, he took the seven rolls of bread from the disciples and thanked God for the bread.
Then he took/held in his hands the seven loaves of bread, and said “thank you” to God.

8:6b–c

Then: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Then is literally “and.” It introduces the part of the verse that tells what Jesus did after the people sat down. Connect 8:6b–c to the previous event in a natural way in your language.

He took the seven loaves, gave thanks and broke them: In Greek, the actions in 8:6b, took the seven loaves and gave thanks, prepare for the main actions in 8:6c. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the actions in 8:6b as an independent sentence, as the BSB and many other versions do. For example, the CEV says:

…he took the seven loaves and blessed them. He then broke the loaves….

He took the seven loaves: The clause He took the seven loaves indicates that Jesus took the loaves from the disciples. Then he held them while he gave thanks for them.

the seven loaves: The phrase the seven loaves refers to the loaves that were mentioned in 8:5a. See how you translated loaves there.

gave thanks: Jesus thanked God for the bread that he had. In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that Jesus thanked God. For example:

gave thanks to God (GNT)

thanked God for them (NLT)

See how you translated “spoke a blessing” in 6:41. The Greek word that is used there is not the same word as the one used here, but it has a similar meaning. See also bless, Meaning 4, in the Glossary.

8:6c

and broke them, and gave them to His disciples

and then he divided the bread and gave the pieces to the disciples
Then he tore/broke the bread into pieces and gave the pieces to his followers,
He broke/divided the loaves of bread and gave them to his disciples, saying,

and broke them: The phrase and broke them means that Jesus tore the bread into pieces. The word them refers to the loaves of bread. The bread was like flat cakes that someone could easily break or tear into pieces. Use a term in your language that refers to dividing bread. For example:

and tore/divided the loaves in two

See how you translated broke in 6:41c.

and gave them to His disciples: Jesus gave the pieces of bread to his disciples so that they could feed the people.

8:6d

to set before the people. And they distributed them to the crowd.

to distribute/serve to the people, and that is what they did.
who distributed it/them to the people/crowd.
“Give this bread to the people,” and the disciples distributed it to the people.

to set before the people. And they distributed them to the crowd: The phrase to set before the people implies that the disciples were to go out among the groups of people to give them the bread.

In some languages it may be more natural to combine the two phrases in this part of the verse. For example:

to serve to the people (GW)

who passed them out to the crowd (CEV)

who distributed the bread to the crowd (NLT)

Translate in a clear way that does not sound redundant or unnatural.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

˓to˒_sit_down (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί παραγγέλλει τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπί τῆς γῆς Καί λαβών τούς ἑπτά ἄρτους εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καί ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα παρατιθῶσιν καί παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ)

In Jesus’ culture, people would usually recline, or lay on one side, when they were eating. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer to the position in which people eat in your culture, or you could just refer to eating. Alternate translation: [to get ready to eat on the ground]

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

ἄρτους

loaves

See how you translated loaves in [6:38](../06/38.md). Alternate translation: [large chunks of bread]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἔκλασεν καὶ ἐδίδου

˱he˲_broke (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί παραγγέλλει τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπί τῆς γῆς Καί λαβών τούς ἑπτά ἄρτους εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καί ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα παρατιθῶσιν καί παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ)

Here Mark means that Jesus broke the loaves of bread in pieces so that they could be served to the crowds. This was a normal practice in his culture. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. See how you expressed the similar words in [6:41](../06/41.md). Alternate translation: [he divided the loaves into servings and was giving them] or [he broke the loaves into smaller pieces and was giving the pieces]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicitinfo

ἵνα παρατιθῶσιν, καὶ παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ

in_order_that ˱they˲_˓may_be˒_setting_before_‹them› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί παραγγέλλει τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπί τῆς γῆς Καί λαβών τούς ἑπτά ἄρτους εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καί ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα παρατιθῶσιν καί παρέθηκαν τῷ ὄχλῳ)

The clauses so that they might set them before them, and they set them before the crowd contains extra information that would be unnatural to express in some languages. If this is true of your language, you could shorten the expression. Alternate translation: [so that they set them before the crowd] or [and they were setting them before crowd]