John 6 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias).

A huge crowd kept following him because they had seen the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick.

Jesus went up on a hillside and sat down there with his disciples.

Now the Passover, the Jewish festival, was near.

When Jesus looked up and saw the massive crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy bread for all these people to eat?"

He was saying this to test him — he already knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn't be enough for each of them to get even a bite!"

One of his disciples, Andrew (Simon Peter's brother), spoke up:

"There's a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish — but what good is that for so many people?"

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that area. So the people sat down — about five thousand men.

Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people sitting there. He did the same with the fish — as much as they wanted.

When everyone had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover pieces so nothing is wasted."

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.

When the people saw the miraculous sign he had performed, they began saying, "This really is the Prophet who is coming into the world!"

Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake.

They got into a boat and started crossing the lake toward Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

A strong wind was blowing and the water was getting rough.

After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake, coming toward the boat — and they were terrified.

But he said to them, "I am — don't be afraid."

Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake realized that only one boat had been there and that Jesus had not gotten into the boat with his disciples — his disciples had gone off alone.

Other boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

Jesus answered them, "I'm telling you the truth — you're not looking for me because you saw signs. You're looking for me because you ate the bread and had your fill."

Don't work for food that spoils. Work for food that lasts into limitless life — the kind the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father has placed his seal of approval on him.

Then they asked him, "What do we need to do to carry out God's work?"

Jesus answered, "This is God's work: to trust in the one he has sent."

So they asked him, "Then what miraculous sign are you going to do so we can see it and trust you? What are you going to do?"

"Our ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, just as it's written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

Jesus said to them, "I'm telling you the truth — Moses didn't give you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true bread from heaven."

For God's bread is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

"Sir," they said to him, "give us this bread from now on!"

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever trusts in me will never be thirsty."

But as I told you, you've seen me and still don't trust.

Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and I will absolutely never turn away anyone who comes to me.

Because I have come down from heaven not to do what I want, but to do what the one who sent me wants.

And this is what the one who sent me wants: that I should not lose a single one of all those he has given me, but raise them up on the last day.

For this is what my Father wants: that everyone who sees the Son and trusts in him should have limitless life, and I will raise them up on the last day.

The Jewish leaders started grumbling about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

They said, "Isn't this Jesus, Joseph's son? We know his father and mother. How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"

Jesus answered them, "Stop grumbling among yourselves."

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them — and I will raise them up on the last day."

"It's written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him comes to me."

"Not that anyone has seen the Father — only the one who is from God has seen the Father."

"I'm telling you the truth: the one who trusts has limitless life."

"I am the bread of life."

"Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died."

"But this is the bread that comes down from heaven — so that anyone can eat it and not die."