Mark 6 : 38

Vulgate inserts colon after eis to mark direct discourse, a Latin editorial convention not reflected in Greek or Syriac manuscript traditions.

Peshitta expands the question with explicit locative ܗܪܟܐ ('here') and existential construction ܐܝܬ ܠܟܘܢ ('you have'), making the interrogative more emphatic. Greek and Latin use simple verb ἔχετε / habetis without spatial qualifier, representing a more compressed Semitic idiom in the Peshitta.

Greek places the question first (πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε;) then commands (ὑπάγετε καὶ ἴδετε); Peshitta inverts this sequence, placing imperatives ܙܠܘ ܚܙܘ ('go see') before the interrogative ܟܡܐ ܠܚܡܝܢ ('how many loaves'). Vulgate follows Greek word order but marks the question with punctuation (habetis ?).

Greek uses aorist participle γνόντες ('having known'); Peshitta employs temporal clause ܘܟܕ ܚܙܘ ('and when they saw'); Vulgate uses cum + pluperfect subjunctive (cum cognovissent), a classical Latin construction expressing anterior action. All three convey the same temporal relationship but through different syntactic strategies.

Peshitta adds indirect object pronoun ܠܗ ('to him') after ܐܡܪܝܢ, making the addressee explicit; Greek and Latin leave this implicit in the verb forms λέγουσιν / dicunt. Vulgate again inserts colon to mark direct speech.

Peshitta repeats the noun ܠܚܡܝܢ ('loaves') after the numeral ܚܡܫܐ, creating the phrase 'five loaves and two fish' with explicit repetition; Greek and Latin use ellipsis (πέντε καὶ δύο ἰχθύας / Quinque, et duos pisces), leaving 'loaves' understood from context after the first numeral.