Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.” “We will go with you,” they said. So they went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing that night.
Parallel translations
- WEB Simon Peter said to them, “I’m going fishing.” They told him, “We are also coming with you.” They immediately went out, and entered into the boat. That night, they caught nothing.
- KJV Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
- NKJV Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
- NASB Simon Peter *said to them, “I am going fishing.” They *said to him, “We are also coming with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
- NLT Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Peter goes fishing with the others, but they catch nothing all night. It matters because their empty nets set up Jesus' miraculous provision and recall their original calling.
Overview
Peter returns to his familiar trade, and the others join him, yet their labor through the night yields nothing. The fruitless effort recalls Luke 5, where a similar empty catch preceded Jesus' call to follow Him. The emphasis on catching nothing highlights human inability apart from Christ. It prepares the disciples to recognize that fruitfulness comes only at the Lord's word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Luke 5:5“Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked hard all night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”
- Matt 4:18–20As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
- 2 Th 3:7–9For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,
- Luke 5:10–11and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”
- 1 Th 2:9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
- 2 Kgs 6:1–7Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please take note that the place where we meet with you is too small for us.
- 1 Cor 3:7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
- Acts 18:3and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.
- 1 Cor 9:6Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?
- Acts 20:34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 21:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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