6:9a

Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish: The boy had bread made from barley flour. This was cheaper than wheat flour and was what poor people normally ate.

boy: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as boy refers to a young male—a child or youth.

barley: This word refers to a grain used to make bread. It was like wheat, but was cheaper, so poor people usually ate barley loaves. Here are some ways to translate this word:

grain called barley
-or-
a grain like wheat that is called barley
-or-
barley grain

loaves: These loaves were probably small rounds of bread, not large loaves weighing a pound or more that people buy today. However, this was a generous amount of food for one person.

small fish: This refers to small cooked fish, probably dried or salty.

6:9b

But what difference will these make among so many?: This is a rhetorical question. Andrew used it to emphasize his statement. It means “they are not nearly enough for so many people.” There are at least two ways to translate this question:

• Use a rhetorical question. For example:

but what good are these for so many people? (NET Bible)

• Use a statement. For example:

But they will certainly not be enough for all these people. (Good News Translation)

Translate this rhetorical question in a way that is natural in your language to emphasize a statement.

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