LUKE 9:14 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.)

OET (OET-RV) There were about 5,000 men (not counting women and children).
¶ Then he told his apprentices, “Sit them down in rows of about fifty each.”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 (For there were about 5,000 men.) Then he said to his disciples, “Have them recline to eat in groups of about 50 each.”

UST They said this because there were about 5000 men there. Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have the people sit down in groups. Put about 50 people in each group.”

BSB ( There were about five thousand men.)
§ He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty {each}.”

MSB ( There were about five thousand men.)
§ He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of[fn] fifty {each}.”

BLB For they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty."

AICNT For there were about five thousand men. And he said to {his}[fn] disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of [about][fn] fifty each.”

9:14, his: Some manuscripts read “the.” Latin(b e)

9:14, about: ℵ(01) B(03) C(04) D(05) NA28[ ] SBLGNT THGNT ‖ Absent from A(02) W(032) Latin(a b ff²) BYZ TR.

OEB (For the men among them were about five thousand.) ‘Get them seated in companies,’ was his reply, ‘about fifty in each.’

WEBBE For they were about five thousand men.
¶ He said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET (Now about five thousand men were there.) Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

LSV for they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, “Cause them to recline in companies, in each fifty”;

FBV There were about five thousand men present.
¶ “Sit them down in groups of about fifty,” he told his disciples.

TCNT (For there were about five thousand men.) Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of [fn]fifty each.”

9:14 fifty ¦ about fifty CT

T4T There were about 5,000 men there. He replied to the disciples, “No, just tell the people to sit down. Tell them to sit in groups, with about 50 people in each group.”

LEB (For there were about five thousand men.) So he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

BBE For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them be seated in groups, about fifty to a group.

Moff (There were about five thousand men of them.) He said to his disciples, "Make them lie down in rows of about fifty."

Wymth (For there were about 5,000 adult men.) But He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in parties of about fifty each."

ASV For they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.

DRA Now there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples: Make them sit down by fifties in a company.

YLT for they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, 'Cause them to recline in companies, in each fifty;'

Drby for they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down in companies by fifties.

RV For they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.

SLT For they were about five thou sand men. And he said to his disciples, Place them reclining by fifty in a place for reposing.

Wbstr For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.

KJB-1769 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.

KJB-1611 For they were about fiue thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit downe by fifties in a company.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps And they were about fyue thousande men. And he said to his disciples: Cause the to sit downe by fifties in a companie.
(And they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples: Cause the to sit down by fifties in a company.)

Gnva For they were about fiue thousand men. Then he sayde to his disciples, Cause them to sit downe by fifties in a company.
(For they were about five thousand men. Then he said to his disciples, Cause them to sit down by fifties in a company. )

Cvdl (for there were vpon a fyue thousande men) But he sayde vnto his disciples: Cause them to syt downe by fifties in a copany.
((for there were upon a five thousand men) But he said unto his disciples: Cause them to sit down by fifties in a copany.)

TNT And they were about a fyve thousand men. And he sayde to his disciples: Cause them to syt doune by fyfties in a company.
(And they were about a five thousand men. And he said to his disciples: Cause them to sit down by fifties in a company. )

Wycl And the men weren almost fyue thousynde. And he seide to hise disciplis, Make ye hem sitte to mete bi cumpanyes, a fifti to gidir.
(And the men were almost five thousand. And he said to his disciples, Make ye/you_all hem sit to meet by companies, a fifty together.)

Luth (Denn es waren bei fünftausend Mann.) Er sprach aber zu seinen Jüngern: Lasset sie sich setzen bei Schichten, je fünfzig und fünfzig.
((Because it were at/in five-thousand man.) He spoke but to/for his disciples: Let they/she/them itself/yourself/themselves set/put/place at/in layers, each/ever fifty and fifty.)

ClVg Erant autem fere viri quinque millia. Ait autem ad discipulos suos: Facite illos discumbere per convivia quinquagenos.[fn]
(They_were however almost men five thousands. He_said however to disciples his_own: Facite those discumbere through convivia fifty. )

9.14 Quinque millia. Per quinque millia significantur, qui in sæculari adhuc habitu per quinque sensus corporis exterioribus quæ possident, bene uti noverunt. Qui quinque panibus aluntur, quia tales necesse est legalibus adhuc præceptis institui, et legali timore comprimi. Nam qui mundo integre renuntiant et quatuor sunt millia propter evangelicam doctrinam, et septem panibus, id est, septiformis spiritus reficiuntur gratia.

9.14 Five thousands. Per five thousands are_signified, who/which in/into/on secular still dress through five sense body exterioribus which get_itnt, well to_use they_know. Who five bread aluntur, because tales necessary it_is legalibus still commands(n) institui, and legali with_fear comprimi. For/Surely who/which to_the_world integre they_report and four are thousands because gospelm teaching, and seven bread, that it_is, sevenfold spirit reficiuntur grace.

UGNT (ἦσαν γὰρ ὡσεὶ ἄνδρες πεντακισχίλιοι.) εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ, κατακλίνατε αὐτοὺς κλισίας ὡσεὶ ἀνὰ πεντήκοντα.
((aʸsan gar hōsei andres pentakisⱪilioi.) eipen de pros tous mathaʸtas autou, kataklinate autous klisias hōsei ana pentaʸkonta.)

SBL-GNT ἦσαν γὰρ ὡσεὶ ἄνδρες πεντακισχίλιοι. εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ· Κατακλίνατε αὐτοὺς κλισίας ⸀ὡσεὶ ἀνὰ πεντήκοντα.
(aʸsan gar hōsei andres pentakisⱪilioi. eipen de pros tous mathaʸtas autou; Kataklinate autous klisias ⸀hōsei ana pentaʸkonta.)

RP-GNT Ἦσαν γὰρ ὡσεὶ ἄνδρες πεντακισχίλιοι. Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ, Κατακλίνατε αὐτοὺς κλισίας ἀνὰ πεντήκοντα.
(Aʸsan gar hōsei andres pentakisⱪilioi. Eipen de pros tous mathaʸtas autou, Kataklinate autous klisias ana pentaʸkonta.)

TC-GNT Ἦσαν γὰρ ὡσεὶ ἄνδρες [fn]πεντακισχίλιοι. Εἶπε δὲ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ, Κατακλίνατε αὐτοὺς κλισίας [fn]ἀνὰ πεντήκοντα.
(Aʸsan gar hōsei andres pentakisⱪilioi. Eipe de pros tous mathaʸtas autou, Kataklinate autous klisias ana pentaʸkonta. )

9:14 πεντακισχιλιοι ¦ πεντακισχειλιοι TH

9:14 ανα ¦ ωσει ανα CT

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 9:10–17: Jesus did a miracle to feed more than five thousand people

Jesus taught the people about the kingdom of God and he healed many sick people. Then he fed all of the people by multiplying a small amount of bread and fish. This is the only miracle besides Jesus’ resurrection that all four Gospels record.

Some other headings for this section are:

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (NIV)

The Feeding of the Five Thousand (NET)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 14:13–21, Mark 6:30–44, and John 6:1–14.

9:14a

(There were about five thousand men.)

(There were about five thousand men there.)
They said that because there were about five thousand men in the crowd of people who were there.

There were about five thousand men: This is background information that explains what the disciples said in 9:13c. They did not think that Jesus wanted them to buy food for so many people. In Greek, 9:14 begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “for.” The BSB uses parentheses to indicate that this is an explanation. You should express the explanation in a natural way in your language. One way to do that in English is:

They said this because there were five thousand men there.

five thousand men: The number five thousand refers only to the men who were in the crowd, but women and children were also there.The place where Jesus and his disciples were was far from where people lived. So probably not many women and children came with the men to hear Jesus teach. It may be helpful in your translation to imply that there were more than five thousand people in the crowd. For example:

There were about five thousand men in the crowd. (CEV)

You may want to put a footnote in your translation to make this clear. You could also give a cross-reference to the parallel account in Matthew 14:21. The Matthew passage says, “The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

9:14b

He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

But Jesus said to the disciples, “Tell^(plur) them to sit down in groups, about fifty in each group.”
Jesus replied, “Tell^(plur) the people to sit in groups of about fifty people each.”
But Jesus told his disciples/apostles to seat everyone in groups with about fifty people in each group.

This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the ESV, translate it that way. Other versions, such as the NASB and NIV, translate it as “But” because it introduces Jesus’ response to what his disciples said in 9:13b, and his response may imply a slight contrast with the disciples’ attitude. In some languages it may be more natural to leave this contrast implied. For example:

Then he said to his disciples (REB)

Some other versions simply start a new sentence. For example:

Jesus said to his disciples (GNT)

The BSB similarly has not translated this conjunction. Introduce Jesus’ response in a natural way in your language.

He told His disciples: The word disciples refers here to the same men as “the apostles” in 9:10 and “the twelve” in 9:12. Translate the clause He told His disciples in a way that clearly indicates that Jesus was still talking to the same people.

disciples: The Greek word that the BSB translates as disciples means “learners” who are in a special relationship with a teacher. The learners commit themselves to their teacher in order to learn from him and live according to his teaching and example. Disciples often lived with their teacher and followed him wherever he went.

Some ways to translate disciples are:

students/learners

apprentices

followers

This word first occurs in Luke in 5:30a. See disciple in the Glossary for more information.

Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each: Have them sit down means “Cause them to sit down.” You may be able to translate this whole command as:

Organize them into groups of fifty people and tell them to sit down.

Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty people.

Seat them in groups of fifty people.

Parallel LUKE 9:14

Section 9:10–17: Jesus did a miracle to feed more than five thousand people

9:14a

9:14b