He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
Parallel translations
- KJV And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
- BSB He saw two boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.
- NKJV and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.
- NASB and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.
- NLT He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.
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
Jesus sees two empty boats while the fishermen wash their nets. Ordinary working men and their tools are about to be drawn into his mission.
Overview
The detail of the washed nets signals the end of a fruitless night's work. These boats belong to Simon and his partners, ordinary Galilean fishermen. Luke's careful attention to the everyday setting prepares for the contrast between human labor that caught nothing and the abundance that comes at Christ's word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Mark 1:19Going on a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
- Matt 4:21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 5:2 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.