Section 5:1–11

Simon and some other fishermen became disciples of Jesus

In this section, Simon Peter and some of his fishing companions heard Jesus teach. They saw his power revealed through a miraculous catch of fish. As a result, they left their fishing work and began following Jesus as his disciples.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Jesus called Simon and other fishermen to become his disciples
-or-
Jesus’ first disciples

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 4:18–22 and Mark 1:16–20.

Paragraph 5:1–3

5:1a

On one occasion: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as On one occasion is literally “And it happened.” This phrase introduces the beginning of a new story. Many English versions translate this by “one day.” Other English versions (such as the Revised Standard Version) do not translate this phrase. Introduce this story in a way that is natural in your language.

while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret: This clause gives some background information. It tells where Jesus was. When this story happened, Jesus was by Lake Gennesaret.

was standing: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was standing can also simply mean “was.” Here the focus is probably on Jesus’ location. He was by Lake Gennesaret. His posture is probably not in focus. Other ways to translate this are:

Jesus was near Lake Gennesaret
-or-
Jesus was by Lake Gennesaret

the Lake of Gennesaret: The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the lake that is also called the “Sea of Galilee” or “Lake Galilee.” It was a large inland body of fresh water (about 21 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide). This is the only text in the Bible that refers to this lake by this name.

Here are other ways to translate the name of this lake:

• Transliterate the Greek word here. For example:

Lake Gennesaret (Good News Translation)

If you translate this as Lake Gennesaret, you may wish to add a footnote saying something like:

Lake Gennesaret is another name for Lake Galilee.

• Use the name that Matthew, Mark, and John used for this lake. For example:

Lake Galilee (New Century Version)

If you translate this as Lake Galilee, you may wish to add a footnote saying:

The Greek text literally says “the Lake of Gennesaret.” This was another name for Lake Galilee.

5:1b

with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God: This part of the verse gives further background information. It sets the scene for the story that follows.

with the crowd pressing in on Him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as with the crowd pressing in on Him is literally “while the crowd pressed upon him.” All the people wanted to hear what Jesus said. They pushed in as close to him as they could. This made it hard for him to teach.

Some other ways to translate this are:

the people pushed their way up to him (Good News Translation)
-or-
great crowds pressed in on him (New Living Translation (2004))

to hear the word of God: The phrase to hear the word of God implies that the people listened to Jesus teach the word/that message God gave him. In some languages, it may be necessary to say “teach” explicitly. For example:

teaching the people as they crowded around him to hear God’s message (Contemporary English Version)

God: For help in translating the word God, see the note at 1:6b.

General Comment on 5:1a–b

Some English versions follow the Greek word order more closely than the Berean Standard Bible. For example:

1bWhile the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, 1ahe was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. (Revised Standard Version)

Use the most natural order in your language to introduce background information.

See the General Comment on 5:1–2 at the end of the notes on 5:2c for a suggestion about how to shorten the length of this sentence.

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