John 6:34 kjv
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
John 6:34 nkjv
Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."
John 6:34 niv
"Sir," they said, "always give us this bread."
John 6:34 esv
They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
John 6:34 nlt
"Sir," they said, "give us that bread every day."
John 6 34 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jn 6:33 | "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." | Jesus defines the true bread as Himself, bringing spiritual life. |
| Jn 6:35 | "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger..." | Jesus explicitly identifies Himself as the "Bread of Life." |
| Jn 6:48 | "I am the bread of life." | Repetition of Jesus' self-declaration. |
| Jn 6:51 | "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever..." | Emphasizes the life-giving nature of partaking in Christ. |
| Deut 8:3 | "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna... to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." | OT parallel of physical hunger pointing to spiritual truth. |
| Matt 4:4 | "But He answered, 'It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."'" | Jesus quotes Deut 8:3, emphasizing spiritual over physical nourishment. |
| Jn 4:15 | The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty..." | Parallel misunderstanding with the Samaritan woman seeking physical water. |
| Jn 3:4 | Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?" | Another example of a literal interpretation of Jesus' spiritual teaching. |
| Jn 6:26 | Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled." | Jesus identifies their worldly motives for following Him. |
| Jn 6:27 | "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life..." | Jesus contrasts physical food with eternal spiritual nourishment. |
| Ex 16:3 | And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full..." | Israel's grumbling for physical food in the wilderness, foreshadowing the crowd's desire. |
| Ex 16:15 | When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat." | Introduction of manna, the physical "bread from heaven" typology. |
| Ps 78:24 | And had rained down manna upon them to eat, And given them grain of heaven. | Description of manna as "grain of heaven," yet inferior to true Bread. |
| Heb 10:1 | For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities... | The Old Testament provisions (like manna) are shadows pointing to Christ. |
| Isa 55:2 | "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy?" | Calls to seek true satisfaction beyond material things. |
| Jn 6:60 | Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard teaching; who can accept it?" | The difficulty in accepting spiritual truth over physical desire. |
| Jn 6:63 | "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." | Clarifies the spiritual nature of His words and life. |
| Luke 12:15 | And He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." | Warning against prioritizing physical possessions over true life. |
| Phil 4:19 | And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. | God provides, but for needs, not necessarily for endless desires or luxuries. |
| Matt 6:11 | "Give us this day our daily bread." | Prayer for daily sustenance, recognizing reliance on God, but not perpetual, unconditional provision. |
| Heb 1:1-2 | God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son... | Jesus is the ultimate revelation, surpassing previous divine provisions and understandings. |
John 6 verses
John 6 34 Meaning
John 6:34 records the crowd's literal request for the "bread" Jesus has been discussing, demonstrating their fundamental misunderstanding of His teaching. They seek a constant supply of physical sustenance, much like the manna their ancestors received in the wilderness, failing to grasp that Jesus Himself is the spiritual "Bread of Life" who gives eternal sustenance and life to the world. Their desire for perpetual physical provision misses the profound spiritual truth about salvation found only in Him.
John 6 34 Context
This verse occurs during Jesus' extended discourse on the "Bread of Life," delivered in Capernaum after He miraculously fed over five thousand people with five barley loaves and two fish. The crowd, impressed by His ability to provide food, followed Him across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus confronted their motives, stating they sought Him for the loaves rather than for the spiritual signs. He then exhorted them to work not for perishable food but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man provides. When they asked what works they should do, Jesus declared the work of God is to believe in Him whom He sent. Their demand for a sign, comparing Him to Moses who gave manna, led to Jesus' pronouncement: "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (Jn 6:32-33). John 6:34 is the crowd's immediate, earthly response to this profound declaration. Historically and culturally, the Jewish people greatly valued the manna experience in their past, seeing it as a symbol of divine blessing and a type of messianic expectation for a king who would bring a golden age of prosperity and provision. They struggled to grasp a Messiah whose primary purpose was spiritual sustenance and salvation rather than physical liberation and abundance.
John 6 34 Word analysis
- Then they said: (οὖν εἶπον) - The Greek particle oun ("then," "therefore") connects this statement directly as a consequence of Jesus' preceding words about the "bread of God." It signals a collective, unified response from the crowd.
- to Him: (πρὸς αὐτόν) - Indicates a direct address to Jesus.
- Lord: (Κύριε - Kyrie) - This address is respectful, commonly used for a teacher, master, or person of authority, but does not necessarily imply recognition of Jesus' divine nature at this point. It simply means "Sir" or "Master" in this context. The crowd's focus remains on earthly provision, despite the title.
- give us: (δὸς ἡμῖν - dos hēmin) - An imperative command or earnest request. It reveals a desire for dependency on Jesus for provision, but this dependency is transactional, focused on what they can receive rather than on submission to His divine purpose. This echoes the Israelites' demand for manna in the wilderness.
- this bread: (τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον - ton arton touton) - The demonstrative pronoun "this" points to the specific "bread of God" Jesus just spoke of in Jn 6:33. The critical point is their interpretation: they hear "bread" (artos) and understand it solely as physical sustenance, in stark contrast to Jesus' spiritual meaning of Himself as the life-giving bread.
- always: (πάντοτε - pantote) - This adverb expresses a desire for perpetual, continuous, and unending supply. It highlights their yearning for an end to labor and worry about food, akin to the wish for the constant, effortless provision of manna without end. While hinting at eternity, their understanding of "always" is applied to an earthly, temporal desire, reflecting a profound lack of spiritual insight into true, eternal satisfaction.
Words-Group analysis:
- "Lord, give us": This phrase combines a term of address (acknowledging authority, not necessarily divinity) with a request, revealing their transactional view of God's provision. It reflects a dependency, yet it's driven by carnal desire.
- "this bread always": The juxtaposition of the specific item "this bread" with the modifier "always" underscores their materialistic misinterpretation. They desire a never-ending physical benefit, showing their preoccupation with the temporary rather than the eternal.
John 6 34 Bonus section
The crowd's request in John 6:34 acts as a literary pivot, showcasing the transition from Jesus' initial gentle teaching about spiritual bread to His more explicit and challenging declarations that alienate many listeners. It exemplifies how easily people can hear profound spiritual truths and translate them into their existing physical paradigms, leading to fundamental misunderstanding. This human tendency to seek continuous earthly comfort rather than a deeper, spiritual relationship is a recurring theme throughout the Gospels, mirroring the Israelites' constant grumbling for physical provision during their journey in the wilderness, despite God's ultimate plan for their spiritual training and dependence on Him.
John 6 34 Commentary
John 6:34 encapsulates the profound misunderstanding prevalent among the crowd following Jesus. Having just witnessed the miraculous feeding and then hearing Jesus speak of Himself as the "bread of God" that "gives life to the world," their immediate request—"Lord, give us this bread always"—reveals their complete failure to grasp the spiritual implications. They seek perpetual physical gratification and ease, a return to an idealized Exodus-like scenario where food is provided effortlessly and endlessly. Their focus remains fixed on tangible, earthly sustenance, symbolizing a common human tendency to prioritize temporary physical comfort over eternal spiritual nourishment. This response sets the stage for Jesus' subsequent, more challenging statements about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, which would further test their physical understanding and expose the depth of their spiritual blindness. This exchange highlights the pervasive challenge for humanity: to see beyond the material and temporal to discern the spiritual and eternal reality of Christ and His redemptive work.