6:49a

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness: This clause refers back to 6:31 and the story in Exodus 16. It is the first part of a comparison that Jesus made between manna (material bread/food) and himself (true bread that gives spiritual life).

Your fathers: This phrase refers to those Israelites who lived at the same time as Moses.

manna: This word refers to a white substance that God provided for the Israelites to eat in the wilderness. It tasted like biscuits or crackers with honey and was used to make bread. See the note on 6:31a.

Bible translations usually transliterate (copy the sounds of) the word manna. You may also want to include some description. For example:

food called manna
-or-
manna, the food that God provided

6:49b

yet: Translating this Greek conjunction literally as “and” may imply that the Israelites died because they ate the manna, which is not true. Here are some ways to avoid that implication:

but they died (Good News Translation)
-or-
and they still died

they died: This clause indicates that even though their ancestors ate manna, bread from heaven, they still died. In contrast, if people receive him, they will not die spiritually.

The people that ate the manna did not die instantly. They died over a period of many years. For example:

and later they died (Contemporary English Version)

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