14:19a

And He directed the crowds: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as directed means “commanded” or “urged.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Then he commanded the people
-or-
Then he told the people to (New Living Translation (2004))

This word does not imply that Jesus shouted angrily or harshly at the crowd.

the crowds: As mentioned in 14:13c, the plural word crowds refers to different groups of people. They were all gathered together in one place.

Here is another way to translate this word:

the people

to sit down: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to sit down is more literally “to recline.” This is the word used to describe the position that people at that time got in for eating. So Jesus implied that the people were supposed to get into a position to eat a meal. In some languages, it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

to sit down ⌊to eat⌋

When he told the people to sit down, the text implies that they did what he said. In some languages, it may be natural to make this information explicit. For example:

Then he told the people to sit down…, ⌊and they did.⌋

on the grass: According to the parallel passage in Mark 6:39, the grass was green grass. This means that it was fresh grass. It was not dried, brown grass. The grass in that area was relatively short and comfortable to sit on.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

on the ⌊fresh/young⌋ grass

If people in your area will think of grass that is meters tall and not comfortable to sit on, you can say:

on the ground

You may then want to explain it in a footnote. For example:

Literally “on the grass.” The area there was grassy hills.

14:19b

Taking: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Taking also means “held.” Jesus prayed as he held the bread and fish in his hands.

14:19c

and looking up to heaven: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as heaven here refers to the sky as a symbol of God’s dwelling place. Jesus looked up toward the sky/heaven because he was about to thank God. Jewish people commonly looked upward toward heaven while they prayed. Since Jesus literally looked upward at the sky, you could translate the word heaven here with the usual word for sky. You do not have to use a special term that refers to the place where God lives.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he looked up toward the sky
-or-
he looked upwards

He spoke a blessing: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as spoke a blessing:

(1) It refers to thanking God for the food. For example:

he thanked God for the food (New Century Version)

(New International Version, Good News Translation, NET Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Century Version)

(2) It refers to blessing the food. For example:

blessed them (New Living Translation (2004))

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). As a custom, Jews praised God and thanked him for the food that he provided for them.

In some languages the meaning of He spoke a blessing needs to be expressed with a direct quote. For example:

He said, “Thank you.”

14:19d

He broke the loaves: This clause means that Jesus broke/tore the bread into smaller pieces. This was the normal way a meal was begun. You should use the normal verb in your language for dividing bread. For example:

he tore the breads ⌊in pieces⌋
-or-
Jesus divided the bread (New Century Version)

and gave them: The pronoun them refers to the pieces of bread.

14:19e

the disciples gave them to the people: The clause means that the disciples distributed the pieces of bread to the people. For example:

who distributed it to the people (New Living Translation (2004))

Matthew did not mention the fish, but Jesus certainly divided the fish into pieces as well and gave them to his disciples. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:

⌊they did the same thing with the fish⌋

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