Section 6:22–59

Jesus is the bread that gives life

In this section Jesus spoke in figurative language about how he himself is the source of eternal life. He called himself “the bread of life” and said that people must “eat” his flesh and “drink” his blood. These words caused a lot of argument.

Paragraph 6:22–24

This paragraph explains that the people were confused about where Jesus had gone. He had not gone in the disciples’ boat, and yet he was not still with them.

These verses, especially 6:22, may be difficult to translate. 6:22 implies the people saw something that was in the past. Also, in the Greek text, 6:22 is one long sentence. It may be more natural to break it into two or more sentences, as the New Revised Standard Version does. See another example in the General Comment on 6:22a–c.

6:22a

the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea: The crowd had not entered the boats and followed Jesus and the disciples across the lake. They remained where they were. In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a complete sentence:

The crowd had remained where they were, on the opposite side of the lake.

realized that only one boat had been there: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as realized here means “recognized” or “understood.” There were two things that the people understood, explained here and in 6:22b. Here, the people remembered what they saw the day before, and realized what it meant.

Here are other ways to translate this Greek word:

Next day the crowd which had stayed on the other side of the lake realized that there had been only one boat there. (Good News Translation)
-or-
they remembered that just one boat had been there the previous night
-or-
The people who had stayed on the east side of the lake knew that only one boat had been there. (Contemporary English Version)

only one boat: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as boat is more literally “small-boat.” It refers to the same boat that was mentioned in 6:17 and the rest of the story. Because of that, most English translations use the same word here as before.

6:22b

and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples: This clause explains the second thing that the people understood. The first thing, that there was only one boat earlier, was explained in 6:22a.

6:22c

but they had gone away alone: The word alone here means “without Jesus.” Here are other ways to translate this clause:

The disciples had gone away without him. (God’s Word)
-or-
they had left without him (New Century Version)

General Comment on 6:22a–c

There are several ways to make this verse easier to understand. Consider what example may be best to follow in your language:

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The next day the people who had stayed on the other side of the lake knew that Jesus had not gone in the boat with his followers but that they had left without him. And they knew that only one boat had been there. (New Century Version)

In some languages it may be natural to translate what the people realized/thought as direct speech. For example:

The following day the crowd was still on the same side of the lake. They said to one another, “There was only one boat here. Jesus did not get into that boat—his disciples left without him. ⌊Where is he⌋ ?”

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