Matius 14:12-17

14:12 Then John’s ¹  disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

14:13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it, ²  they followed him on foot from the towns. ³  14:14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 14:15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place ⁴  and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 14:16 But he ⁵  replied, “They don’t need to go. You ⁶  give them something to eat.” 14:17 They ⁷  said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

[14:12]  ¹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[14:13]  ² tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:13]  ³ tn Or “cities.”

[14:15]  ⁴ tn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).

[14:16]  ⁵ tc ‡ The majority of witnesses read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) here, perhaps to clarify the subject. Although only a few Greek mss, along with several versional witnesses (א* D Z^vid 579 1424 pc e k sy^s,c,p sa bo), lack the name of Jesus, the omission does not seem to be either accidental or malicious and is therefore judged to be most likely the original reading. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[14:16]  ⁶ tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

[14:17]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.