Luke 5 · Verse 2

Luke 5:2

And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

Luke 5:2, King James Version

Luke 5:2 in other translations

BSB	He saw two boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.
WEB	He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
ASV	and he saw two boats standing by the lake: but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
YLT	and he saw two boats standing beside the lake, and the fishers, having gone away from them, were washing the nets,
DARBY	and he saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen, having come down from them, were washing their nets.
BBE	And he saw two boats by the edge of the water, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
Webster	And saw two boats standing by the lake: but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

What does Luke 5:2 mean?

Barnes' Notes

Verse 2. Two ships. The skips used on so small a lake were probably no more than fishing-boats without decks, and easily drawn up on the beach. Josephus says there were 230 of them on the lake, attended by four or five men each. That they were small is also clear from the account commonly given of them. A single large draught of fishes endangered them and came near sinking them.

Standing by the lake. Anchored by the lake, or drawn up upon the beach.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 2 Two ships - Δυο πλοια, Two vessels, It is highly improper to term these ships. They appear to have been only such small boats as are used to manage nets on flat smooth beaches: one end of the net is attached to the shore; the fishermen row out, and drop the net as they go, making a kind of semicircle from the shore; they return, and bring the rope attached to the other end with them, and then the net is hauled on shore; and, as it was sunk with weights to the bottom, and floated with corks at the top, all the fish in that compass were included, and drawn to shore.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 5:1-11

When Christ had done preaching, he told Peter to apply to the business of his calling. Time spent on week days in public exercises of religion, need be but little hinderance in time, and may be great furtherance to us in temper of mind, as to our worldly business. With what cheerfulness may we go about the duties of our calling, when we have been with God, and thus have our worldly employments sanctified to us by…

Read the full comment on Luke 5:1-11 →

Luke 5:2 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiandG2532

εἶδενeidenHe sawG1492

δύοduotwoG1417

πλοῖαploiaboatsG4143

ἑστῶταhestōtaalready lyingG2476

παρὰparabyG3844

τὴνtēntheG3588

λίμνην.limnēnlake.G3041

οἱhoi<the>G3588

δὲdebutG1161

ἁλιεῖςhalieisthe fishermenG231

ἀπ᾽ap᾽fromG575

αὐτῶνautōnthemG846

ἀποβάντεςapobanteshaving gone outG576

ἔπλυνονeplunonwere washingG4150

τὰtatheG3588

δίκτυα.diktuanets.G1350

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 5:2

Mark 1:19
And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
Matthew 4:21
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

washing.
Mt 4:21; Mr 1:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Luke 5:1
And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
Luke 5:2
And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
Luke 5:3
And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

Read all of Luke 5

Luke 5:2 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y vió dos barcos que estaban cerca de la orilla del lago: y los pescadores, habiendo descendido de ellos, lavaban sus redes.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et il vit deux bateaux qui étaient au bord du lac. Or les pêcheurs en étaient descendus et lavaient leurs filets.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er sah zwei Schiffe am See stehen; die Fischer aber waren aus denselben getreten und wuschen ihre Netze.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et vidit duas naves stantes secus stagnum: piscatores autem descenderant, et lavabant retia.