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So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
Luke 5:7 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came, and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
  • KJV And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
  • BSB So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
  • NASB so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking.
  • NLT A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

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

The catch is so great that both boats are filled to sinking and partners must help. The abundance exceeds what one crew can hold.

Overview

The miracle's magnitude requires the help of the partners in the second boat, filling both nearly to sinking. This shared abundance foreshadows the disciples' joint mission. The overflowing catch points beyond itself to the great harvest of people Jesus will gather through his followers.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Phil 4:3Yes, I beg you also, true partner, help these women, for they labored with me in the Good News, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
  • Gal 6:2Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
  • Acts 11:25Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul.
  • Prov 18:24A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
  • Exod 23:5If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, don’t leave him, you shall surely help him with it.
  • Rom 16:2–4that you receive her in the Lord, in a way worthy of the saints, and that you assist her in whatever matter she may need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, and of my own self.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 5:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 5:7 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.