^21:4When it was already very early morning, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ^21:5So Jesus said to them, “Children, you don’t have any fish,¹² do you?”¹³ They replied,¹⁴ “No.” ^21:6He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”¹⁵ So they threw the net,¹⁶ and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish.

^21:7Then the disciple whom¹⁷ Jesus loved¹⁸ said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, tucked in his outer garment (for he had nothing on underneath it),¹⁹ and plunged²⁰ into the sea. ^21:8Meanwhile the other disciples came with the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards.²¹

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Footnotes

12 The word προσφάγιον (prosphagion) is unusual. According to in Hellenistic Greek it described a side dish to be eaten with bread, and in some contexts was the equivalent of ὅψον (opson), “fish.” Used in addressing a group of returning fishermen, however, it is quite clear that the speaker had fish in mind.
13 Questions prefaced with μή (mē) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “do you?”).
14 Grk “They answered him.”
15 The word “some” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
16 The words “the net” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
17 Grk “the disciple, that one whom.”
18 On the disciple whom Jesus loved see 13:23–26.
19 Grk “for he was naked.” Peter’s behavior here has been puzzling to many interpreters. It is usually understood that the Greek word γυμνός (gumnos, usually translated “naked”) does not refer to complete nudity (as it could), since this would have been offensive to Jewish sensibilities in this historical context. It is thus commonly understood to mean “stripped for work” here (cf. , ), that is, with one’s outer clothing removed, and Peter was wearing either a loincloth or a loose-fitting tunic (a long shirt-like garment worn under a cloak, cf. , “for he was lightly clad”). Believing himself inadequately dressed to greet the Lord, Peter threw his outer garment around himself and dived into the sea. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 580–81) offered the explanation that a greeting was a religious act and thus could not be performed unless one was clothed. This still leaves the improbable picture of a person with much experience around the water putting on his outer garment before diving in. R. E. Brown’s suggestion (John [], 2:) seems much more probable here: The Greek verb used (διαζώννυμι, diazōnnumi) does not necessarily mean putting clothing on, but rather tying the clothing around oneself (the same verb is used in 13:4–5 of Jesus tying the towel around himself). The statement that Peter was “naked” could just as well mean that he was naked underneath the outer garment, and thus could not take it off before jumping into the water. But he did pause to tuck it up and tie it with the girdle before jumping in, to allow himself more freedom of movement. Thus the clause that states Peter was naked is explanatory (note the use of for), explaining why Peter girded up his outer garment rather than taking it off—he had nothing on underneath it and so could not remove it. This is a parenthetical note by the author.
20 Grk “threw himself.”
21 Or “about a hundred meters”; Grk “about two hundred cubits.” According to , a πῆχυς (pēchus) was about 18 inches or .462 meters, so two hundred πηχῶν (pēchōn) would be about 100 yards (92.4 meters).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. “Friends,” Jesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?”

“No,” they answered.

“Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” he told them, “and you’ll find some.” So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer clothing around him (for he had taken it off) and plunged into the sea. Since they were not far from land (about a hundred yards away), the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish.

NLTNew Living Translation

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied.

Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now when it was already early morning, Jesus stood on the beach. However, the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish to eat, do you? They answered him, “No.” And he said to them, “Throw the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they threw it, and were no longer able to haul it in from the large number of the fish.

Then that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, tied around himself his outer garment (for he was naked) and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net of fish, because they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits away.

KJV 1900King James Version

But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And 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. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.

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