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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 6 V1 V4 V7 V10 V13 V16 V19 V22 V25 V28 V34 V37 V40 V43 V46 V49 V52 V55 V58 V61 V64 V67 V70
OET (OET-LV) The fathers of_us ate the manna in the wilderness, as is having_been_written:
he_gave bread out_of the heaven to_them to_eat.
OET (OET-RV) Our ancestors ate the manna[fn] out in the wilderness, just like Mosheh wrote, ‘He gave them bread from the sky to eat.’ ”
6:31 Manna was a word that meant ‘stuff’ and referred to some kind of flakes that regularly came down from the sky in the time of Mosheh and could be eaten as food.
In this section Jesus spoke in figurative language about how he himself is the source of eternal life. He called himself “the bread of life” and said that people must “eat” his flesh and “drink” his blood. These words caused a lot of argument.
In the previous paragraph Jesus claimed that God approved of him. Now the people who were listening asked Jesus what they could do to do the works of God. Jesus told them to believe in him. The people then asked what miraculous sign he would show them.
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,
Our(incl) ancestors ate manna while they were in the wilderness,
Moses gave our(incl) ancestors manna bread to eat when they were walking around in the desert.
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness: This clause refers to the event that Exodus 16 records. The event is that God supplied manna for the people of Israel to eat while they traveled through the wilderness.
Our fathers: The word Our includes Jesus and those speaking to him, so it is an inclusive pronoun. The word translated literally as fathers includes both men and women. These ancestors lived almost 1500 years earlier.
ate the manna: The Hebrews ate this manna for forty (40) years. Use a verb tense that indicates that this was a regular event that took place for a long time. See Exodus 16:35.
the manna: The word manna is a Hebrew word that means “what is it?” Manna was a white substance that God provided for the Israelites to eat in the wilderness. It appeared on the ground every morning except the Sabbath. It tasted like biscuits or crackers with honey and was used to make bread. See Exodus 16:31 and Numbers 11:8.
Bible translations usually transliterate (copy the sounds of) the word manna. You may also want to include some description. For example:
food called manna
manna, the food that God provided
as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
as the Scriptures say, ‘He gave them bread that came from heaven to eat.’”
Moses wrote in God’s book that he fed them with bread/food from heaven.”
as it is written: This phrase indicates that the following words are from the Jewish Scriptures, what Christians call the Old Testament. This quotation is from the Psalms (Psalm 78:24, 105:40).
Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
This is written in the Scriptures. (NCV)
It happened just as the Scriptures say (CEV)
He gave them bread from heaven to eat: It is not clear in this verse whether the pronoun He refers to Moses or to God. In Psalm 78:24 it is clear that the one who gave them bread was God. John 6:32b, however, strongly implies that the people thought that Moses was the one who gave the bread. It is recommended that you translate using a pronoun that can refer either to Moses or to God.
bread: In biblical times, bread was the most important food that people ate. The word bread was sometimes used to refer to food in general. However, in many language areas, bread is not that important. If bread is not important in your language area, you may want to use a more general word. For example:
He fed them food which came from heaven.
heaven: This word refers to the place where God lives. See Matthew 5:16, and KBT Heaven, Sky A2.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τὸ μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τό μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθώς ἐστίν γεγραμμένον Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν)
In this verse, John assumes that his readers will know that the crowd is referring to a story recorded in the Old Testament book of Exodus. In that story, the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry. God responded by providing a flake-like food that fell from the sky and could be baked into bread. The people called this flake-like food “manna.” (See: manna) You could indicate this explicitly if it would be helpful to your readers, particularly if they would not know the story. Alternate translation: [Our fathers ate the manna when they were wandering in the wilderness after leaving Egypt]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τό μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθώς ἐστίν γεγραμμένον Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν)
The crowd used fathers to refer to their ancestors. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Our ancestors] or [Our forefathers]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐστιν γεγραμμένον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τό μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθώς ἐστίν γεγραμμένον Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [the prophets wrote in the Scriptures]
Note 4 topic: writing-quotations
ἐστιν γεγραμμένον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τό μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθώς ἐστίν γεγραμμένον Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν)
The crowd uses it is written to introduce a quotation from an Old Testament book ([Psalm 78:24](../../psa/78/24.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that the crowd is quoting from an important text. Alternate translation: [it was written in the scriptures]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
ἐστιν γεγραμμένον, ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τό μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθώς ἐστίν γεγραμμένον Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [it is written that he gave them bread from heaven to eat]
Note 6 topic: writing-pronouns
ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τό μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθώς ἐστίν γεγραμμένον Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν)
He here could refer to: (1) Moses, in which case the crowd was mistakenly quoting a scripture about God and applying it to Moses. This is possible because Jesus says in the next verse, “Moses has not given you the bread from heaven.” Alternate translation: [Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat] (2) God, which is who it referred to in the scripture the crowd is quoting. Alternate translation: [God gave them bread from heaven to eat]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
ἄρτον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τό μάννα ἔφαγον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθώς ἐστίν γεγραμμένον Ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν)
John records the crowd using the word bread to represent food in general that is needed to sustain life. The manna that God gave the Israelites from heaven was not bread, but a food that could be baked into bread. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [food]
6:1-71 Each story in this chapter uses the setting of the Passover Festival (6:4) to communicate a deeper meaning.
OET (OET-LV) The fathers of_us ate the manna in the wilderness, as is having_been_written:
he_gave bread out_of the heaven to_them to_eat.
OET (OET-RV) Our ancestors ate the manna[fn] out in the wilderness, just like Mosheh wrote, ‘He gave them bread from the sky to eat.’ ”
6:31 Manna was a word that meant ‘stuff’ and referred to some kind of flakes that regularly came down from the sky in the time of Mosheh and could be eaten as food.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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