Paragraph 6:10–13

This paragraph records Jesus’ response to the problem. He did a miracle to provide enough food for everyone.

6:10a

Have the people sit down: Jesus wanted the disciples to ask or tell the people to sit down. He did not mean that they should force the people to sit, but just ask or tell them.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Please tell the people to sit down
-or-
Tell everyone to sit down (New Living Translation (2004))

6:10b

Now: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now is not a time word. It introduces some parenthetical background information that explains why the people could sit on the ground. Many English translations do not translate this word explicitly. A couple of translations put the background information in parentheses. You should introduce or indicate the following background information in a way that is natural in your language.

there was plenty of grass in that place: This is background information. It describes the place where the crowd was gathered. The ground was covered with grass, so it was a good area for sitting down.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

This was a very grassy place. (New Century Version)
-or-
The ground was covered with grass. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
(There was a lot of grass there.) (Good News Translation)

grass: In some languages there may not be a common word for grass. If your language is like that, use a general word for groundcover (plants that naturally covers the ground). The grass was still growing and no one had cut it. In other languages, there may be several different words referring to different kinds of grass. In that case, use a word referring to wild grass that covers the ground and which people can sit on and be comfortable.

6:10c

so: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so means “therefore.” Here it indicates that the disciples did in fact ask the people to sit down. Some translations leave this conjunction implicit.

the men sat down, about five thousand of them: The Greek text more literally says that about five thousand (5000) men sat down. The Greek word for men is normally used for males only. See Matthew 14:21, where women and children are explicitly excluded.

General Comment on 6:10a–c

In some languages it may be natural to reorder or combine the information in these clauses. For example:

“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The ground was covered with grass, and Jesus told his disciples to have everyone sit down. About five thousand men were in the crowd. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” The people had plenty of grass to sit on. (There were about 5,000 men in the crowd.) (God’s Word)

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