^5:4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower⁹ your nets for a catch.” ^5:5Simon¹⁰ answered,¹¹ “Master,¹² we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word¹³ I will lower¹⁴ the nets.” ^5:6When¹⁵ they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.¹⁶^5:7So¹⁷ they motioned¹⁸ to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink.¹⁹^5:8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord,²⁰ for I am a sinful man!”²¹^5:9For²² Peter²³ and all who were with him were astonished²⁴ at the catch of fish that they had taken, ^5:10and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners.²⁵ Then²⁶ Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on²⁷ you will be catching people.”²⁸

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Luke 5:5: And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Footnotes

9 Or “let down.” The verb here is plural, so this is a command to all in the boat, not just Peter.
10 Grk “And Simon.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
11 Grk “answering, Simon said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation to “Simon answered.”
12 The word ἐπιστάτης is a term of respect for a person of high status (see L&N 87.50).
13 The expression “at your word,” which shows Peter’s obedience, stands first in the Greek clause for emphasis.
14 Or “let down.”
15 Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
16 In context, this imperfect verb is best taken as an ingressive imperfect ( §338.1).
17 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate consequential nature of the action.
18 That is, “they signaled by making gestures” (L&N 33.485).
19 This infinitive conveys the idea that the boats were at the point of sinking.
20 Lord is a term of high respect in this context. God’s presence in the work of Jesus makes Peter recognize his authority. This vocative is common in Luke (20 times), but does not yet have its full confessional force.
21 Peter was intimidated that someone who was obviously working with divine backing was in his presence (“Go away from me”). He feared his sinfulness might lead to judgment, but Jesus would show him otherwise.
22 An explanatory conjunction (For) makes it clear that Peter’s exclamation is the result of a surprising set of events. He speaks, but the others feel similarly.
23 Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 In the Greek text, this term is in an emphatic position.
25 Or “business associates.”
26 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
27 From now on is a common Lukan expression, see Luke 1:48.
28 The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.” The kind of fishing envisioned was net—not line—fishing, which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (, people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [], 67; D. L. Bock, Luke [], 1:). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life. With the statement “You will be catching people” Jesus turns the miracle into a metaphor for mission.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 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. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled 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.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

“Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.”

When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners.

“Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.”

NLTNew Living Translation

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 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.

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And when he stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered and said, “Master, although we worked hard through the whole night, we caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they did this, they caught a very large number of fish, and their nets began to tear. And 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. And when he saw it, Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man!” For amazement had seized him and all those who were with him at the catch of fish that they had caught, and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were business partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be catching people!”

KJV 1900King James Version

Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 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. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

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