¹⁴ When he went ashore,^[a] he saw a large crowd, had compassion on them, and healed their sick.^(A)

¹⁵ When evening came, the disciples^(B) approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late.^[b] Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶ “They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to him.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ Then he commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.^{(C) 20} Everyone ate and was satisfied. They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces.^{(D) 21} Now those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Feeding Four Thousand

8 In^(A) those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called^(B) the disciples^(C) and said to them, ² “I have compassion^(D) on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way,^(E) and some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴ His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed^(F) these people?”

⁵ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked them.

“Seven,” they said. ⁶ He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke^(G) them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd. ⁷ They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well. ⁸ They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. ⁹ About four thousand were there. He dismissed them. ¹⁰ And he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.