And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

MATTHEW 14:17KJV
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Matthew 14:17 (KJV)

What does Matthew 14:17 mean?

Matthew 14:17 describes how Jesus’ disciples told him that they only had five loaves of bread and two fish available. The verse highlights the small amount of food the disciples had when faced with a large, hungry crowd.

In this scene, the disciples are responding to Jesus after he told them to give food to the people gathered around him. The disciples are pointing out their limited resources, likely feeling overwhelmed by the impossibility of feeding so many with so little. This sets the stage for the miracle that follows, where Jesus multiplies the food.

The Greek behind Matthew 14:17

  • ἄρτους (artos, G740): This word means "loaves" or "bread." In this context, it refers to simple, everyday bread, not anything fancy or large, emphasizing the ordinariness of what was available.
  • ἰχθύας (ichthys, G2486): This word means "fish." The Greek here refers to actual fish, likely small ones, which was common fare for people in that region and time.
  • οὐκ (ouk, G3756) and εἰ μὴ (ei mē, G1508): These words together are often translated as "but" or "except," stressing that the disciples had nothing else to offer except these few items. This highlights the sense of limitation and lack.

Why Matthew 14:17 matters

  • Matthew 14:17 makes clear just how little food the disciples had, helping readers understand the scale of the miracle that Jesus is about to perform.
  • The verse shows the disciples’ practical concerns and their focus on what they can see and count, which contrasts with Jesus’ coming response.
  • This detail connects to the larger theme in the passage: God’s ability to provide abundantly even when resources seem completely inadequate.

Where else these words appear

“fishes” Greek G2486 · used in 18 verses

  • Matthew 7:10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
  • Mark 6:41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
  • Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

“five” Greek G4002 · used in 33 verses

  • Matthew 14:19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
  • Luke 9:13 But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.
  • John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

“here” Greek G5602 · used in 56 verses

  • Matthew 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
  • Mark 9:5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
  • Luke 23:5 And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

“but” Greek G1508 · used in 87 verses

  • Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
  • Luke 4:26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
  • Romans 14:14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.