Luke 9:14
Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
The apostles tell Jesus to send away to crowd so they can find food in nearby towns.
Luke 9:14 Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
Luke 9:14 Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each
Make them sit down in parties of about fifty.
Greek
Greek Word Order
Κατακλίνατε αὐτοὺς κλισίας ὡσεὶ ἀνὰ πεντήκοντα.
Make sit down them in parties about of fifty.
Fifty is the largest group that can manage itself.
Lost in Translation
This verse uses a lot of words that are uncommon for Jesus. The word translated as "company" and "groups" means a group of diners and Jesus only uses it here. We say "party" in English. The Greek word not in the KJV source and translated as "about" in the NIV, is used only here and means "about" when referring to numbers. The verb translated as "make sit down" is used only in two verses and it means to "make sit down" when there is an object.
Vocabulary (Greek word by word)
Κατακλίνατε [2 verses](verb 2nd pl aor imperat act) "Make sit down" is kataklino, which means "to lay down", "cause to incline", "bend downwards", "lay prostrate", and with dative, "overthrow", " to be set under", and "made subject to."
αὐτοὺς [62 verses](pron pl masc acc) "Them" is autous, in the form of the plural, masculine pronoun "them" in the form of a direct object. An accusative object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement. Events may show the amount of time.
ὡσεὶ [1 verse] (adv) Untranslated is hosei, which means "as if", "as though" and, with various measures, "about".
ἀνὰ [6 verses](prep) "On" is ana, which is a preposition that with the genitive, means "on board" a ship.With accusative, implies upward motion; of place, "from bottom to top" or "up along;" of time, "throughout;" of mind, "to have continually" in mind, " as an adverb, "thereupon," "throughout," "all over," "up," and "arising. With numbers the sense is distributive, "by," "at the rate of," "in bodies of," etc.
πεντήκοντα [3 verses] (numeral indeclform) "Fifty" is from pentekonta, which means "fifty".
KJV — word by word
Make -- The verb translated as "make sit down" means "to lay down", "cause to incline", "bend downwards", "lay prostrate". It means "cause" or "make" here because it has an object, them. It is not a common word for Jesus to use to mean "sit", but has the addition of "down" to it. It refers specifically sitting down for a meal.
them -- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English in the form of a plural object of a verb or preposition.
sit - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the root.
down - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.
missing "about" -- (OS) The untranslated word is "about" is an adverb that means "about" with various measures.
by -- "By" is from an uncommon preposition that means with numbers, a distribution, "by," "at the rate of," "in bodies of," etc.
fifties -- "Fifty" is the Greek numeral fifty. It could be either singular or plural.
in -- This word "in" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.
company. -- Another uncommon word is translated as "a company". It means "a place of sitting or laying down", but like word "seating" in English, it refers to a group of diners. It is in a form that is normally used as the possessive, but here indicates a part, "as part of as seating".
NIV — word by word
them sit down in groups of fifty each
Have -- The verb translated as "make sit down" means "to lay down", "cause to incline", "bend downwards", "lay prostrate". It means "cause" or "make" here because it has an object, them. It is not a common word for Jesus to use to mean "sit", but has the addition of "down" to it. It refers specifically sitting down for a meal.
them -- The word translated as "them" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English in the form of a plural object of a verb or preposition.
sit - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the root.
down - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.
in -- This word "in" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a noun doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.
groups -- (WN) Another uncommon word is translated as "a company". It means "a place of sitting or laying down", but like word "seating" in English, it refers to a group of diners. It is in a form that is normally used as the possessive, but here indicates a part, "as part of as seating". This word is not plural but singular.
of -- "Of" is from an uncommon preposition that means with numbers, a distribution, "by," "at the rate of," "in bodies of," etc.
about -- "About" is an adverb that means "about" with various measures.
fifty -- "Fifty" is the Greek numeral fifty. It could be either singular or plural.