6:1 After this, Jesus went ·across [to the other side of] ·Lake [T the Sea of] Galilee (or, Lake Tiberias).
6:2 Many people followed him because they saw the ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] he did ·to heal [L for; on behalf of] the sick.
6:3 Jesus went up on a ·hill [or mountain] and sat down there with his ·followers [disciples].
6:4 It was almost the time for the Jewish Passover Feast [C the annual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12; John 2:13].
6:5 When Jesus ·looked up [L raised his eyes] and saw a large crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip [C one of the twelve disciples; 1:43], “Where can we buy enough bread for all these people to eat?”
6:6 (Jesus asked Philip this question to test him, because Jesus already knew what he ·planned [was going] to do.)
6:7 Philip answered [L him], “·Someone would have to work almost a year to buy enough bread [L Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not enough; C a denarius was a unit of money worth about a day’s wages] for each person to have only a little piece.”
6:8 Another one of his ·followers [disciples], Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,
6:9 “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish, but ·that is not enough [L what are these…?] for so many people.”
6:10 Jesus said, “·Tell [L Make] the people to sit down.” There was plenty of grass there, and about five thousand men sat down there.
6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves of bread, ·thanked God [L gave thanks] for them, and ·gave [distributed] them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, giving as much as the people wanted.
6:12 When they ·had all had enough to eat [L were filled/satisfied], Jesus said to his ·followers [disciples], “Gather the leftover ·pieces of fish and bread [L pieces] so that nothing is wasted.”
6:13 So they gathered up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with the pieces left from the five barley loaves [2 Kin. 4:42–44; C Jesus’ miracle surpasses that of Elisha].
6:14 When the people saw this ·miracle [L sign] that Jesus did, they said, “He must truly be the Prophet [1:21; C probably the “prophet like Moses” of Deut. 18:15–18] who is coming into the world.”
6:15 Jesus knew that the people ·planned [intended; were about] to come and take him by force and make him their king, so he ·left [withdrew] and went into the ·hills [or mountains] alone.
6:16 That evening Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] went down to ·Lake Galilee [L the lake/sea].
6:17 It was dark now, and Jesus had not yet ·come to [joined] them. The ·followers [disciples] got into a boat and started across the lake to Capernaum.
6:18 By now a strong wind was blowing, and ·the waves on the lake were getting bigger [L the sea/lake rose up].
6:19 When they had rowed the boat about ·three or four miles [L twenty-five or thirty stadia; C a stadion was about 600 feet], they saw Jesus walking on the ·water [sea; lake], coming toward the boat. The ·followers [disciples] were afraid,
6:20 but Jesus said to them, “It is I [or “I am”; C there could be an echo here of Ex. 3:14]. Do not be afraid.”
6:21 Then they ·were glad [or were willing] to take him into the boat. ·At once [Immediately] the boat came to land at the place where they wanted to go. [C The sea often stands for chaos, and God controls it.]
6:22 The next day the ·people [L crowd] who had stayed on the ·other [opposite] side of the ·lake [sea] knew that Jesus had not gone in the boat with his ·followers [disciples] but that they had left ·without him [L alone]. And they ·knew [L saw] that only one boat had been there.
6:23 But then some boats came from Tiberias [C a major city on the western shore of Lake Galilee] and landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
6:24 When the ·people [L crowd] saw that Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] were not there now, they got into boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.
6:25 When ·the people [L they] found Jesus on the ·other [opposite] side of the ·lake [sea], they asked him, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], when did you come here?”
6:26 Jesus answered, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], you aren’t looking for me because you saw ·me do miracles [L signs]. You are looking for me because you ate the bread and were ·satisfied [filled].
6:27 Don’t work for the food that ·spoils [perishes]. Work for the food that ·stays good always and gives eternal life [L endures/remains/abides for eternal life]. The Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14] will give you this food, because on him God the Father has ·put his power [L set his seal; C a seal impression signifies ownership and authority; 3:33].”
6:28 The people asked Jesus, “What ·are the things God wants us to do [L should we do to work the works of God]?”
6:29 Jesus answered, “·The work God wants you to do is this [L This is the work of God]: Believe the One he sent.”
6:30 So ·the people [L they] asked, “What ·miracle will you do? If we see a miracle, we will believe you [L sign will you do that we might see and believe you?]. What ·will you do [work will you perform]?
6:31 Our ·ancestors [forefathers; L fathers] ate the manna [C a flaky breadlike food that God provided the Israelites in the wilderness; Ex. 16:13–36] in the ·desert [wilderness]. ·This is written in the Scriptures [L As it is written]: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat [compare Ex. 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 78:24].’
6:32 [L Therefore; So; Then] Jesus said to them, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; it is my Father who is giving you the true bread from heaven.
6:33 [L For] God’s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
6:34 [L Therefore] ·the people [L they] said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
6:35 Then Jesus said to them, “I am the ·bread that gives life [T bread of life]. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
6:36 But as I told you before, you have seen me and still don’t believe.
6:37 ·The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me [L All/Everything the Father gives me will come to me], and I will ·always accept them [not reject them; L not cast them out].
6:38 [L For] I came down from heaven to do ·what God wants me to do [L the will of him who sent me], not ·what I want to do [L my own will].
6:39 Here is ·what the One who sent me wants me to do [L the will of him who sent me]: I must not lose even one whom God gave me, but I must raise them all on the last day.
6:40 Those who see the Son and believe in him have eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day. This is ·what my Father wants [L the will of my Father].”
6:41 ·Some people [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] began to ·complain [grumble; murmur] about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that comes down from heaven.”
6:42 They said, “·This is [L Is this not…?] Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. How can he [L now] say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
6:43 But Jesus ·answered [responded], “Stop ·complaining to each other [grumbling/murmuring among yourselves].
6:44 The Father is the One who sent me. No one can come to me unless the Father draws him to me, and I will raise that person up on the last day.
6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God [Is. 54:13].’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.
6:46 ·No one has [or Not that anyone has] seen the Father except the One who is from God; only he has seen the Father. [C Some interpreters put the previous sentence in parentheses as a side comment made by the author.]
6:47 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], whoever believes has eternal life.
6:48 I am the ·bread that gives life [T bread of life].
6:49 Your ·ancestors [forefathers; L fathers] ate the manna [see 6:31] in the ·desert [wilderness], but still they died.
6:50 Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will never die.
6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give up so that the world may have life.”
6:52 Then the ·Jewish leaders [L Jews] began to ·argue [dispute; quarrel] among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
6:53 [L So] Jesus said to them, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], you must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. Otherwise, you won’t have ·real life [L life] in you.
6:54 Those who ·eat [feed on; C Jesus uses a different Greek word for “eat” in vv. 54–57 than in the previous verses; but the difference is probably stylistic] my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.
6:55 [L For] My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
6:56 Those who ·eat [feed on] my flesh and drink my blood ·live [remain; abide] in me, and I ·live [remain; abide] in them.
6:57 The living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father. So whoever ·eats [feeds on] me will live because of me.
6:58 I am not like the bread your ·ancestors [forefathers; L fathers] ate [C the manna; 6:31]. They ate that bread and still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven, and whoever ·eats [feeds on] this bread will live forever.”
6:59 Jesus said all these things while he was teaching in the synagogue [C a local congregation of Jews] in Capernaum [2:12].
6:60 When the ·followers [disciples; C a broader circle of followers, not the twelve disciples] of Jesus heard this, many of them said, “This teaching [C that Jesus is the bread of life; 6:25–59] is ·hard [difficult; offensive]. Who can ·accept [obey; L hear] it?”
6:61 Knowing that his ·followers [disciples] were ·complaining [grumbling] about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this teaching ·bother [offend] you?
6:62 Then ·will it also bother you to [L what if you] see the Son of Man ·going back [L going up; ascending] to the place ·where he came from [L where he was before; C heaven]?
6:63 It is the Spirit that gives life. The flesh ·doesn’t give life [L is useless; counts for nothing]. The words I told you ·are spirit, and they give life [or are from the Spirit who gives life].
6:64 But some of you don’t believe.” ([L For] Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe and who would ·turn against [betray] him.)
6:65 Jesus said, “That is the reason I said, ·‘If the Father does not bring a person to me, that one cannot come.’ [L ‘No one can come to me unless the Father enables/grants him.’]”
6:66 After Jesus said this, many of his ·followers [disciples] ·left him [L turned back to previous things] and ·stopped following [L no longer walked with] him.
6:67 Jesus asked ·the twelve followers [the Twelve], “Do you want to leave, too?”
6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord [or Master], who would we go to? You have the words that give eternal life.
6:69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One from God.”
6:70 Then Jesus answered them, “·I chose [L Did I not choose…?] all twelve of you, but one of you is ·a devil [or the Devil; C Jesus equates the work of Judas with the work of Satan; compare Mark 8:33].”
6:71 Jesus was talking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the twelve, but later he was going to ·turn against [betray] Jesus.
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