Luke 5:8-10

5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, ¹  for I am a sinful man!” ²  5:9 For ³  Peter ⁴  and all who were with him were astonished ⁵  at the catch of fish that they had taken, 5:10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. ⁶  Then ⁷  Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on ⁸  you will be catching people.” ⁹ 

[5:8]  ¹ sn 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.

[5:8]  ² sn 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.

[5:9]  ³ sn 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.

[5:9]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:9]  ⁵ sn In the Greek text, this term is in an emphatic position.

[5:10]  ⁶ tn Or “business associates.”

[5:10]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:10]  ⁸ sn From now on is a common Lukan expression, see Luke 1:48.

[5:10]  ⁹ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”