Matthew 15:32
New International Version
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

New Living Translation
Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

English Standard Version
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Berean Standard Bible
Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”

Berean Literal Bible
And Jesus, having called His disciples to Him, said, "I am moved with compassion toward the crowd, because they continue with Me three days already and have nothing that they might eat. And I am not willing to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

King James Bible
Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

New King James Version
Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

New American Standard Bible
Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

NASB 1995
And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

NASB 1977
And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the multitude, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not wish to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Legacy Standard Bible
And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Amplified Bible
Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing [left] to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, because they might faint [from exhaustion] on the way [home].”

Christian Standard Bible
Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Now Jesus summoned His disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way.”

American Standard Version
And Jesus called unto him his disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, lest haply they faint on the way.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Then Yeshua called his disciples and said to them: “I am moved with pity for this multitude; they have remained with me three days and they have nothing to eat, and I am not willing to send them away fasting, lest they should faint in the road.”

Contemporary English Version
Jesus called his disciples together and told them, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don't have anything to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint on their way home."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jesus called together his disciples, and said: I have compassion on the multitudes, because they continue with me now three days, and have not what to eat, and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

English Revised Version
And Jesus called unto him his disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, lest haply they faint in the way.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Jesus called his disciples and said, "I feel sorry for the people. They have been with me three days now and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, or they may become exhausted on their way home."

Good News Translation
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away without feeding them, for they might faint on their way home."

International Standard Version
Then Jesus called his disciples and said, "I have compassion for the crowd because they have already been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away without food, or they may faint on the road."

Literal Standard Version
And Jesus having called near His disciples, said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because now three days they continue with Me, and they do not have what they may eat; and to let them away fasting I will not, lest they faint in the way.”

Majority Standard Bible
Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”

New American Bible
Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.”

NET Bible
Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way."

New Revised Standard Version
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

New Heart English Bible
Jesus summoned the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way."

Webster's Bible Translation
Then Jesus called his disciples to him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

Weymouth New Testament
But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "My heart yearns over this mass of people, for it is now the third day that they have been with me and they have nothing to eat. I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they should faint on the road."

World English Bible
Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Jesus having called near his disciples, said, 'I have compassion upon the multitude, because now three days they continue with me, and they have not what they may eat; and to let them away fasting I will not, lest they faint in the way.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
31The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. 32Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.” 33The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”…

Cross References
2 Kings 4:42
Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. "Give it to the people to eat," said Elisha.

Matthew 9:36
When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 14:13
When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns.

Matthew 15:33
The disciples replied, "Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?"

Mark 8:1
In those days the crowd once again became very large, and they had nothing to eat. Jesus called the disciples to Him and said,


Treasury of Scripture

Then Jesus called his disciples to him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

Jesus.

Matthew 9:36
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

Matthew 14:14
And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Matthew 20:34
So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.

I have.

Hebrews 4:15
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

three.

Matthew 12:40
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Matthew 27:63
Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

Acts 27:33
And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

and have.

Matthew 6:32,33
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things…

Luke 12:29,30
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind…

lest.

1 Samuel 14:28-31
Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint…

1 Samuel 30:11,12
And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; …

Mark 8:3
And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.

Jump to Previous
Compassion Continue Crowd Disciples Eat Faint Fasting Heart Jesus Mass Multitude Summoned Third Three Want Way Yearns
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Compassion Continue Crowd Disciples Eat Faint Fasting Heart Jesus Mass Multitude Summoned Third Three Want Way Yearns
Matthew 15
1. Jesus reproves the Scribes and Pharisees
7. for transgressing God's commandments through their own traditions;
10. teaches how that which goes into the mouth does not defile a man.
21. He heals the daughter of the woman of Canaan,
29. and other great multitudes;
32. and with seven loaves and a few small fish feeds four thousand men














(32) I have compassion on the multitude.--The obvious resemblance between the details of this narrative and that of the feeding of the Five Thousand has led the schools of critics, who do not regard either as the record of a fact, to treat this as only another version of the same incident, or rather, from their point of view, of the same legend. The notes of distinctness are, however, too numerous to admit of that explanation. The number of the people fed, their three days' waiting till their food was exhausted, the number of the loaves at hand, and of the baskets in which the fragments were collected after the meal, are all different. More than this, the words rendered in both narratives by "basket" in the Authorised version are not the same in the Greek. Here the word is ?????? (spuris), the hamper in which provisions were packed as for a party travelling together, large enough, as in St. Paul's escape from Damascus (Acts 9:25), to hold a man; while in the other it was the ??????? (cophinus), or smaller basket, which a man carried in his hand. Lastly, our Lord's words in Matthew 16:9-10, distinctly recognise the two miracles, and connect the close of each with the word which was thus specially appropriate to it. Unless we adopt the incredible hypothesis that the one narrative was first so disguised that it lost the marks of its identity, and that the Evangelists, having combined the two, then invented our Lord's words, with all their apparent freshness and adaptation to the special circumstances of the hour, they must be admitted to be decisive as proving that there had been two events, like in kind, to which He thus referred. It is significant that here, as so often before, the display of miraculous power in its highest form originates not in answer to a challenge, or as being offered as a proof of a divine mission, but simply from compassion. Three days had passed, and still the crowds hung on His words and waited for His loving acts, and now they began to show signs of exhaustion that moved His sympathy.

Verse 32. - Called his disciples unto him. Seeing the necessities of the multitude, Jesus, as it were, takes his disciples into council, treating them not as servants, but as friends. They were doubtless dispersed among the crowd, and Jesus summons them around him, and puts before them the special point to which his attention is turned. Thus he tries their faith, and shows that there were no human means available for feeding these famishing people. Thus God, so to speak, takes Abraham into his confidence before visiting the iniquity of Sodom: "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" (Genesis 18:17). I have compassion (σπαλαγχνίζομαι) on the multitude. The human heart of Jesus felt for these distressed followers; his perfect sympathy was aroused in their behalf. We observe references to this tender feeling in many other instances (see Matthew 9:36; Matthew 14:14; Matthew 20:34; Mark 1:41; Mark 5:19; Luke 7:13. And in the Old Testament, e.g. Isaiah 49:15; Jeremiah 12:15; Micah 7:19). They continue with me now three days. The verb used here (προσμένειν) implies close attendance persevered in against obstacles; it is used in Acts 11:23 in a spiritual sense, "He exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave (προσμένειν) unto the Lord." The three days, according to the Hebrew formula of computation, would consist of one whole day and parts of two others. Thus constantly employed in healing and teaching, Jesus thinks not of himself; his whole care is centred on the people who, in their anxiety to see and hear him, forget their own necessities. There would be nothing strange in the people camping out for a night in Palestine. Men and women ordinarily lie down to rest in the clothes which they have worn during the day, and need no special preparation for sleeping. Thus a man covers himself with his heavy outer garment, lies on the dry ground, like Jacob at Bethel, with a stone or his arm for a pillow, and sleeps comfortably and safely till awakened by the morning sun. I wilt not send them away fasting. Like a good master of a household, in his tender pity, Christ takes the circumstances of the multitude into consideration, and cannot endure the idea of dismissing them wearied and unfed to find their way to their own homes, which, as St. Mark adds, were, in the case of many of them, at a long distance. Faint. Travellers tell us that out of the motley crowd of pilgrims that flock to Jerusalem at Easter-tide, many run short of provisions and perish on the road. Christ's thoughtful care regards the possibility of such disaster, and prepares the remedy. He had treated the sicknesses of the multitude; he had instructed their ignorance; now he will feed their bodies. They had sought nothing from him, nor begged for food; probably they had no idea of looking to him to supply their want. But they who follow Jesus shall never lack. They were seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and temporal blessings were added to them.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Then
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

Jesus
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2424: Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.

called
προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos)
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4341: To call to myself, summon. Middle voice from pros and kaleo; to call toward oneself, i.e. Summon, invite.

His
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

disciples [to Him]
μαθητὰς (mathētas)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3101: A learner, disciple, pupil. From manthano; a learner, i.e. Pupil.

[and] said,
εἶπεν (eipen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

“I have compassion
Σπλαγχνίζομαι (Splanchnizomai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 4697: To feel compassion, have pity on, be moved.

for
ἐπὶ (epi)
Preposition
Strong's 1909: On, to, against, on the basis of, at.

[this]
τὸν (ton)
Article - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

crowd,
ὄχλον (ochlon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3793: From a derivative of echo; a throng; by implication, the rabble; by extension, a class of people; figuratively, a riot.

because
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

they have already been
προσμένουσίν (prosmenousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4357: From pros and meno; to stay further, i.e. Remain in a place, with a person; figuratively, to adhere to, persevere in.

with Me
μοι (moi)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

three
τρεῖς (treis)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Plural
Strong's 5140: Three. Or neuter tria a primary number; 'three'.

days
ἡμέραι (hēmerai)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2250: A day, the period from sunrise to sunset.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

have
ἔχουσιν (echousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold.

nothing
οὐκ (ouk)
Adverb
Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.

to eat.
φάγωσιν (phagōsin)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 5315: A primary verb; to eat.

I do not want
θέλω (thelō)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2309: To will, wish, desire, be willing, intend, design.

to send them away
ἀπολῦσαι (apolysai)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 630: From apo and luo; to free fully, i.e. relieve, release, dismiss, or let die, pardon or divorce.

hungry,
νήστεις (nēsteis)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3523: Fasting, not eating. From the inseparable negative particle ne- and esthio; not eating, i.e. Abstinent from food.

or
ποτε (pote)
Conjunction
Strong's 4219: When, at what time. From the base of pou and te; interrogative adverb, at what time.

they may faint
ἐκλυθῶσιν (eklythōsin)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1590: To loose, release, unloose (as a bow-string), relax, enfeeble; pass: To be faint, grow weary. From ek and luo; to relax.

along
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

the
τῇ (tē)
Article - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

way.�
ὁδῷ (hodō)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3598: A way, road, journey, path. Apparently a primary word; a road; by implication, a progress; figuratively, a mode or means.


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Matthew 15:31
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