The apostles returned to Jesus and reported what they had done and taught. So many people were coming and going that Jesus and the disciples did not even have time to eat. He told them to go away by themselves to a quiet place and rest.
They left by boat for a deserted place, but many people recognized them and ran there from the towns. They arrived first. Jesus saw the large crowd when he came ashore and had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things.
Late in the day, the disciples asked Jesus to send the people to the surrounding villages to buy food, since they were in a deserted place. Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat.
They asked whether they should go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread. Denarii were units of money. Jesus asked how many loaves they had and told them to find out. They reported five loaves and two fish.
Jesus directed the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. They sat in groups of hundreds and fifties. He took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. He divided the fish among them all.
Everyone ate and was satisfied. The disciples picked up twelve baskets of broken pieces and fish. The number of men who had eaten the loaves was five thousand.