When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.
Parallel translations
- WEB which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.
- KJV Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
- NKJV which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.
- NASB and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
- NLT When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.
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
When full, the net is drawn ashore and the good fish are kept but the bad discarded. A real sorting of good and bad lies ahead.
Overview
The fishermen sort their catch on the beach, keeping the good and throwing away the worthless. This pictures the final discrimination between the true and the false at the end of the age. The image reinforces that present mixture in the visible community will give way to a decisive, divinely conducted separation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Matt 13:30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”
- Matt 3:12His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- Matt 13:40–43As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 13:48 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.