Text -- Luke 5:1-6 (NET)

The Call of the Disciples

5:1 Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God. 5:2 He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 5:3 He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” 5:5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets.” 5:6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 5:1

¹ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

² sn The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee. Cf. the parallel in Matt 4:18.

³ sn The image of the crowd pressing around him suggests the people leaning forward to catch Jesus’ every word.

NET Notes: Luk 5:2

¹ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

NET Notes: Luk 5:3

¹ tn Grk “Getting into”; the participle ἐμβάς (embas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Grk “sitting down”; the participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

NET Notes: Luk 5:4

¹ tn Or “let down.” The verb here is plural, so this is a command to all in the boat, not just Peter.

NET Notes: Luk 5:5

¹ tn Grk “And Simon.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “answering, Simon said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation to “Simon answered.”

³ tn The word ἐπιστάτης is a term of respect for a person of high status (see L&N 87.50).

⁴ tn The expression “at your word,” which shows Peter’s obedience, stands first in the Greek clause for emphasis.

⁵ tn Or “let down.”

NET Notes: Luk 5:6

¹ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn In context, this imperfect verb is best taken as an ingressive imperfect (BDF §338.1).