Bible Strands
John 21:3
Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.” “We will go with you,” they said. So they went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing that night.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Simon Peter addresses the disciples listed in John 21:2, announcing his departure to fish while they are gathered by the sea. They reply that they will join him, so the group boards a boat and fishes through the night.
The words — The Greek ὑπάγω (hupagō) literally means “I am going,” and ἁλιεύειν (halieuein) means “to fish,” forming Peter’s straightforward declaration. The disciples respond with λέγουσιν (legousin), “They say,” signaling their immediate agreement to accompany him.
The thread — This return to fishing recalls Jesus’ earlier calls to Simon and Andrew in Matthew 4:18 and to Simon, James, and John in Luke 5:10, as well as a prior night of fruitless labor followed by a divine command in Luke 5:5.
Why it lands — The text records a return to ordinary labor before any divine intervention, requiring the reader to track the sequence of human effort and subsequent revelation. It asks the reader to note how the narrative positions Peter’s initiative and the group’s compliance as the immediate precursor to the morning appearance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
Cross-references
- Luke 5:5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked hard all night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”
- Matthew 4:18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
- Luke 5:10 and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”
- 2 Thessalonians 3:7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
- 2 Kings 6:1 Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please take note that the place where we meet with you is too small for us.
- 1 Corinthians 3:7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
- Acts 18:3 and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.
- Acts 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.
- 1 Corinthians 9:6 Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?