And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.

And the people'saw them going, and many knew them , and they ran together there on foot from all the cities, and outwent them.

And they saw them going away, and many knew: and they ran flocking thither on foot from all the cities, and were there before them.

And many saw them going, and recognised them, and ran together there on foot, out of all the cities, and got there before them.

And the people saw them going, and many knew them, and they ran there together on foot from all the cities, and outwent them.

And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran on foot thither out of all cities, and out went them, and came together to him.

And the multitudes saw them going away, and many recognised him, and by land from all the cities they ran thither, and went before them, and came together to him,

And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and preceded them, and came together to him.

But the people saw them going, and many knew them; and coming by land they ran together there from all the neighbouring towns, and arrived before them.

And the people saw them going, and a number of them, having knowledge who they were, went running there together on foot from all the towns, and got there before them.

But they saw them going, and many recognized him and ran there on foot from all the cities and they arrived before them.

And they saw them going away, and many knew about it. And together they ran by foot from all the cities, and they arrived before them.

Many people saw them going, and recognized them, and from all the towns they flocked together to the place on foot, and got there before them.

Afoot thither - On foot to the place where they saw them going.
Out of all cities - All cities or large towns in the neighborhood.

The people - Or, οχλοι, the multitudes. This is wanting in many MSS., but it seems necessary to make the sense clear. There is scarcely a verse in the whole New Testament that has suffered so much from transcribers as this verse. Amidst the abundance of various readings, one can scarcely tell what its original state was. The various readings may be seen in Griesbach.

And the people saw them departing,.... The multitude that came to and fro, saw Christ and his disciples taking ship, and launching off; for though they were as private as could be, and intended to have gone in a very private manner, yet the people observed them:
and many knew him: Jesus; some copies read, "them"; and so do the Syriac and Ethiopic versions; they knew both Christ and his disciples, though they were in the ship, and at some distance:
and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and out went them, and came together unto him; they went on foot, as they might from Capernaum, Nazareth, and the parts adjacent, over the bridge at Chammath of Gadara, to this place, that belonged to Bethsaida; whither they perceived they steered, and made such haste, that they got thither before them; and the people that flocked from several cities met together, and came to Jesus, to hear his doctrine, and see his miracles,

And the people--the multitudes.
saw them departing, and many knew him--The true reading would seem to be: "And many saw them departing, and knew or recognized [them]."
and ran afoot--Here, perhaps, it should be rendered "by land"--running round by the head of the lake, and taking one of the fords of the river, so as to meet Jesus, who was crossing with the Twelve by ship.
thither out of all cities, and outwent them--got before them.
and came together unto him--How exceedingly graphic is this! every touch of it betokening the presence of an eye-witness. John (John 6:3) says, that "Jesus went up into a mountain"--somewhere in that hilly range, the green tableland which skirts the eastern side of the lake.