John 6:11

11 Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted.

John 6:11 Meaning and Commentary

John 6:11

And Jesus took the loaves
Into his hands, as also the fishes, in order to feed the multitude with them:

and when he had given thanks;
for them, and blessed them, or implored a blessing on them, that they might be nourishing to the bodies of men, as was his usual manner, and which is an example to us;

he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were
sat down.
The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, only read, "he distributed to them that were sat down": but it was not by his own hands, but by the means of the disciples, who received from him, and gave it to them; so that the sense is the same;

and likewise of the fishes, as much as they would;
that is, they had as much, both of the bread and of the fishes, distributed to them, and which they took and ate, as they chose: in some printed copies it is read, "as much as he would", and so the Persic version; that is, as much as Jesus would; but the former is the true reading, and makes the miracle more illustrious.

John 6:11 In-Context

9 "There's a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that's a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this."

10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them.

11 Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted.

12 When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted."

13 They went to work and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves.