John 6 | King James Version :: ERF Bibleserver

King James Version

1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. 16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, 17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. 18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. 19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. 20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. 21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. 22 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. 46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. 47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

New International Reader’s Version

Jesus feeds the five thousand

1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It is also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd of people followed him. They had seen the signs he had done by healing ill people. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside. There he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near. 5 Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him. So he said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?’ 6 He asked this only to test Philip. He already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, ‘Suppose we were able to buy enough bread for each person to have just a bite. That would take more than half a year’s pay!’ 8 Another of his disciples spoke up. It was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He said, 9 ‘Here is a boy with five small loaves of barley bread. He also has two small fish. But how far will that go in such a large crowd?’ 10 Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down. About 5,000 men were there. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks. He handed out the bread to those who were seated. He gave them as much as they wanted. And he did the same with the fish. 12 When all of them had enough to eat, Jesus spoke to his disciples. ‘Gather the leftover pieces,’ he said. ‘Don’t waste anything.’ 13 So they gathered what was left over from the five barley loaves. They filled 12 baskets with the pieces left by those who had eaten. 14 The people saw the sign that Jesus did. Then they began to say, ‘This must be the Prophet who is supposed to come into the world.’ 15 But Jesus knew that they planned to come and force him to be their king. So he went away again to a mountain by himself.

Jesus walks on the water

16 When evening came, Jesus’ disciples went down to the Sea of Galilee. 17 There they got into a boat and headed across the lake towards Capernaum. By now it was dark. Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing, and the water became rough. 19 They rowed about 3 or 4 miles. Then they saw Jesus coming towards the boat. He was walking on the water. They were frightened. 20 But he said to them, ‘It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ 21 Then they agreed to take him into the boat. Right away the boat reached the shore where they were heading. 22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake realised something. They saw that only one boat had been there. They knew that Jesus had not got into it with his disciples. And they knew that the disciples had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats arrived from Tiberias. It was near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks. 24 The crowd realised that Jesus and his disciples were not there. So they got into boats and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus.

Jesus is the bread of life

25 They found him on the other side of the lake. They asked him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ 26 Jesus answered, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. You are not looking for me because you saw the signs I did. You are looking for me because you ate the loaves until you were full. 27 Do not work for food that spoils. Work for food that lasts for ever. That is the food the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.’ 28 Then they asked him, ‘What does God want from us? What works does he want us to do?’ 29 Jesus answered, ‘God’s work is to believe in the one he has sent.’ 30 So they asked him, ‘What sign will you give us? What will you do so we can see it and believe you? 31 Long ago our people ate the manna in the desert. It is written in Scripture, “The Lord gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ (Ex 16:4; Ne 9:15; Ps 78:24; Ps 78:25)

Ex 16:4Ne 9:15Ps 78:24Ps 78:25

32 Jesus said to them, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. It is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven. It is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven. He gives life to the world.’ 34 ‘Sir’, they said, ‘always give us this bread.’ 35 Then Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. And whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But it is just as I told you. You have seen me, and you still do not believe. 37 Everyone the Father gives me will come to me. I will never send away anyone who comes to me. 38 I have not come down from heaven to do what I want to do. I have come to do what the one who sent me wants me to do. 39 The one who sent me doesn’t want me to lose anyone he has given me. He wants me to raise them up on the last day. 40 My Father wants all who look to the Son and believe in him to have eternal life. I will raise them up on the last day.’ 41 Then the Jews there began to complain about Jesus. That was because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ 42 They said, ‘Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Don’t we know his father and mother? How can he now say, “I came down from heaven”?’ 43 ‘Stop complaining among yourselves,’ Jesus answered. 44 ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me brings them. Then I will raise them up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, “God will teach all of them.” Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. (Isa 54:13) 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who has come from God. Only he has seen the Father. 47 What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone who believes has life for ever. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Long ago your people ate the manna in the desert, and they still died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven. A person can eat it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Everyone who eats some of this bread will live for ever. This bread is my body. I will give it for the life of the world.’ 52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves. They said, ‘How can this man give us his body to eat?’ 53 Jesus said to them, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. You must eat the Son of Man’s body and drink his blood. If you don’t, you have no life in you. 54 Anyone who eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life. I will raise them up on the last day. 55 My body is real food. My blood is real drink. 56 Anyone who eats my body and drinks my blood remains in me. And I remain in them. 57 The living Father sent me, and I live because of him. In the same way, those who feed on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Long ago your people ate manna and died. But whoever eats this bread will live for ever.’ 59 He said this while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many disciples leave Jesus

60 Jesus’ disciples heard this. Many of them said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’ 61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining about his teaching. So he said to them, ‘Does this upset you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man go up to where he was before? 63 The Holy Spirit gives life. The body means nothing at all. The words I have spoken to you are full of the Spirit. They give life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.’ Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe. And he had known who was going to hand him over to his enemies. 65 So he continued speaking. He said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father helps them.’ 66 From this time on, many of his disciples turned back. They no longer followed him. 67 ‘You don’t want to leave also, do you?’ Jesus asked the 12 disciples. 68 Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, who can we go to? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’ 70 Then Jesus replied, ‘Didn’t I choose you, the 12 disciples? But one of you is a devil!’ 71 He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the 12 disciples. But later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies.