The people is literally “they.”

According to verse 24, the place on the other side of the lake is Capernaum. It was located on the northern shore, slightly to the west. However, in verse 22 the other side of the lake indicates the place where the crowd had eaten bread blessed by Jesus and from which they have just come. If translated literally in both verses, the phrase could be misunderstood as designating one particular side of the lake, although in fact two different places on the lake are meant. To make this clear, it may be necessary to say in verse 25 “on the other side of the lake from where they had just been” or “on the side of the lake to which they had just come.”

Teacher is literally “Rabbi,” the term discussed in 1.38.

One might expect the question of the crowd to be: “how did you get here?” However, if one considers that they did not see Jesus go across the lake by boat, and did not know how he could have arrived in Capernaum except by walking around the lake, their question becomes meaningful.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .