Mark 6:40
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And they were placed in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.
Webster's Revision
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
World English Bible
They sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
Clarke's Mark 6:40 Bible Commentary
By hundreds, and by fifties - "That is," says Mr. Wesley, "fifty in a rank, and a hundred in file. So, a hundred multiplied by fifty, made just five thousand." But if they sat fifty deep, how could the disciples conveniently serve them with the bread and fish?
Barnes's Mark 6:40 Bible Commentary
In ranks - Literally, in the form of square beds in a garden. By regularly formed companies.
By hundreds and by fifties - Some companies had a hundred in them, and some groupings had fifty in them. We do not need to suppose that these were "exactly" formed or arranged, but that this was approximately the number. The expression indicates a "multitude." There were so many that they sat down, by "hundreds" and by "fifties," in separate companies, upon the green grass.
Wesley's Mark 6:40 Bible Commentary
6:40 They sat down in ranks - The word properly signifies a parterre or bed in a garden; by a metaphor, a company of men ranged in order, by hundreds and by fifties - That is, fifty in rank, and a hundred in file. So a hundred multiplied by fifty, make just five thousand.
