John 21:5-6

21:5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you don’t have any fish, ¹  do you?” ²  They replied, ³  “No.” 21:6 He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” ⁴  So they threw the net, ⁵  and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish.

[21:5]  ¹ tn The word προσφάγιον (prosfagion) is unusual. According to BDAG 886 s.v. in Hellenistic Greek it described a side dish to be eaten with bread, and in some contexts was the equivalent of ὄψον (oyon), “fish.” Used in addressing a group of returning fishermen, however, it is quite clear that the speaker had fish in mind.

[21:5]  ² tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) 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?”).

[21:5]  ³ tn Grk “They answered him.”

[21:6]  ⁴ tn The word “some” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[21:6]  ⁵ tn 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.