This translation is from the New American Bible. The bolded hyperlinkswilltake you to additional translations. The entire chapter is included to provide context.
Information about the meaning the original Hebrew or Greek of what seem to be key words is provided in blue. That information is provided beneath the specific reading the words are contained in.
Excerpts collected in yellow at the end of this post tell us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him.
Excerpts collected in green at the end of this post tell us about something God wants us to do.
Reading I
2 Kings 4:42-44
A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”
But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred people?”
Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.” “For thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’”
And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.
give = נָתַן= nāṯan
Blue Letter Bible
to give, bestow, grant; consecrate, devote, dedicate; entrust, give over, deliver up; yield produce; be (healed); pour; print; teach; to apply the heart to; to constitute, to make a thing like or similar to
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 145:10-11,15-16, 17-18
R. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
give = נָתַן= nāṯan
see above
satisfy = שָׂבַע = śāḇaʿ
Blue Letter Bible
be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited; to have in excess
near = קָרוֹב = qārôḇ
Blue Letter Bible
at hand, nigh, intimate, present
call= קָרָא= qārā'
Blue Letter Bible
Call out, cry out; to summon, invite, call for; to call anyone to himself
Reading II
Ephesians 4:1-6
Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
call you have received
κλῆσις = klēsis
Blue Letter Bible
invitation; divine invitation
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
Invitation
καλέω = kaleō
Blue Letter Bible
to bid, in the sense of invite; summon; to call out, call forth from; to select; to rouse
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
Summon; call by name
humility= ταπεινοφροσύνη = tapeinophrosyne
Blue Letter Bible
the having a humble opinion of one's self; a deep sense of one's (moral) littleness; modesty, humility, lowliness of mind; humiliation of mind
R. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament
absolute dependence, of having nothing, but receiving all things of God; creaturely dependence
gentleness= πραΰτης = prautēs
Blue Letter Bible
Meekness; mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit;
R. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament
an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God (Matt. 11:29; Jam. 1:21). It is that temper of spirit in which we accept his dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting; This meekness, however, being first of all a meekness before God, is also such in the face of men, even of evil men, out of a sense that these, with the insults and injuries which they may inflict, are remitted and employed by Him for the chastening and purifying of his elect.
patience = μακροθυμία = makrothymia
Blue Letter Bible
forbearance, longsuffering; endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance; slowness in avenging wrongs; especially as shown in bearing troubles and ills
R. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament
patience in respect of persons
bearing with = ἀνέχω = anechō
Blue Letter Bible
to hold up against a thing; endure; forbearing; to sustain, to bear, to endure; put up with; suffer; listen
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
hold up, lift up; offer prayers, perhaps with uplifted hands; lift up as an offering; hold back, check; hold on, keep doing; practice regularly; cease from; bear up;be content with; suffer; hold on by one another, hang together
Love = ἀγάπη = agape
Blue Letter Bible
affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
the love of husband and wife; brotherly love, charity
striving = σπουδάζω = spoudazō
Blue Letter Bible
Diligence, Diligent, diligently; endeavor; to make haste, to be zealous; to exert one's self; to make effort, be prompt or earnest; labour, study
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
to be busy, eager to do a thing; endeavour that; pay serious attention,to be serious or earnest; study
unity = ἑνότης = henotēs
Blue Letter Bible
unanimity, agreement
bond = σύνδεσμος = syndesmos
Blue Letter Bible
that which binds firmly together; bundle; joint tie, i.e. ligament, (figuratively) uniting principle
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
that which binds together, bond of union, fastening; sinews or ligaments;
Peace = εἰρήνη = eirēnē
Blue Letter Bible
harmonious relationships between men; friendliness; the sense of rest and contentment; The corresponding Heb. word shalom primarily signifies "wholeness";quietness; harmony, concord; security, safety, prosperity, felicity; quietness, rest;way leading to peace, a course of life promoting harmony; a formula of wishing well, blessing, addressed by the Hebrews to departing friends
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
profound peace
Alleluia
Luke 7:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has risen in our midst. God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
John 6:1-15
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
What these readings tell us about God/His ways:
And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.
The hand of the Lord feeds us
he answers all our needs.
the glory of your kingdom
your might
The hand of the Lord feeds us
he answers all our needs.
all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season
you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing
The hand of the Lord feeds us
he answers all our needs
The LORD is just in all his ways
holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him
The hand of the Lord feeds us
he answers all our needs
one body and one Spirit
one hope of your call
one Lord, one faith, one baptism
one God and Father of all
who is over all and through all and in all
A great prophet has risen in our midst
God has visited his people
signs he was performing on the sick
he sat down with his disciples
He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do
Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks
as much of the fish as they wanted.
Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted
that had been more than they could eat
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew
What these readings tell us to do:
bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear
Give it to the people to eat
Give it to the people to eat
give you thanks
let your faithful ones bless you
discourse of the glory of your kingdom
speak of your might
look hopefully to you
call upon him
live in a manner worthy of the call you have received
humility
gentleness
patience
bearing with one another through love
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
the bond of peace
nothing will be wasted
