1 In those days, when a large crowd again had gathered with nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples and said to them,
2 "I have compassion for the crowd because they have already been with me for three days and have nothing to eat.
3 If I send them away to their homes hungry, they will faint on the road. Some of them have come a long distance."
4 His disciples answered him, "Where could anyone get enough bread to feed these people out here in the wilderness?"
5 He asked them,"How many loaves of bread do you have?"They said, "Seven."
6 So he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and gave thanks. He broke them in pieces and kept giving them to his disciples to distribute. So they served them to the crowd.
7 They also had a few small fish. He blessed them and said that the fish should also be distributed.
8 The people ate and were filled. Then the disciples picked up the leftover pieces—seven large baskets full.
9 Now about 4,000 men were there. Then he sent them on their way.