And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
Parallel translations
- WEB When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking.
- KJV And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
- BSB When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear.
- 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 brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
- John 21:6–11He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” They cast it therefore, and now they weren’t able to draw it in for the multitude of fish.
- Eccl 11:6In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don’t withhold your hand; for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good.
- 2 Kgs 4:3–7Then he said, “Go, borrow empty containers from of all your neighbors. Don’t borrow just a few containers.
- Gal 6:9Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.
- Acts 2:41Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
- Acts 4:4But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.