And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
Parallel translations
- WEB When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking.
- BSB When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear.
- NKJV And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
- NASB And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear;
- NLT And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!
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
Obedience yields an overwhelming catch that strains the nets. Christ's word brings abundance where human effort failed.
Overview
The enormous haul of fish, coming immediately at Jesus' word, is a miracle revealing his lordship over creation. The breaking nets dramatize the sheer scale of the blessing. The contrast with the empty night underscores that fruitfulness in God's work flows from obedience to Christ rather than from human striving.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Cor 15:58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
- John 21:6–11And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
- Eccl 11:6In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
- 2 Kgs 4:3–7Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
- Gal 6:9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
- Acts 2:41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
- Acts 4:4Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:6 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.