Home · John · Chapter 21

John 21:10

Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.

After the resurrection, six of the apostles caught a netful of fish after following Jesus's instructions and recognized him. 

Spoken to:
Apostles
KJV issues:
2
KJV

John 21:10 Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.

NIV

John 21:10 Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

What His Listeners Heard

Bring from the fish that you caught now.

Greek

Greek Word Order

 

Ἐνέγκατε ἀπὸ τῶν ὀψαρίων ὧν ἐπιάσατε      νῦν.
Bring       from the  fish           that you caught now.

The realm of the sky is like a net, where the good fish are selected. 

Lost in Translation

The two key words here, "fish", and "caught" are words that Jesus only uses here. The word translated as "caught" is primarily used to refer to authorities catching those they want arrested. It means to hold tight, squeeze or oppress. 

Vocabulary (Greek word by word)

Ἐνέγκατε [16 verses](verb 2nd pl aor imperat act) "Bring" is phero, which means "to bear", "to carry", "to bring", "to produce" and "to fetch". 

 ἀπὸ [190 verses]​(prep) "From" is apo, a preposition of separation which means "from" or "away from" from when referring to place or motion, "from" or "after" when referring to time, "from" as an origin or cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done. Referring to time, it means "from" and "after". Usually takes the genitive object. As a prefix, means "asunder", "completing", "ceasing",  "back again" and "by way of abuse".

τῶν [821 verses](article  pl neut gen)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones". 

 ὀψαρίων [1 verse](noun pl neut gen) "Fish" is from opsarion, which means "fish". This is not the common Greek word for fish. 

ὧν [294 verses](pron sg neut gen ) "That" is hos, which means "this", "that", "he", "she", "it", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "when", "for which reason" and many similar meanings. In the neuter, plural, its sense is "these things".

 ἐπιάσατε [1 verse](verb 2nd pl aor ind act)  "Caught" is from piazo, which means "press tight", "squeeze", "press down", "oppress", "hold fast to", "insist upon" and "lay hold of".

νῦν. [31 verses](adv) "Now" is nyn (nun), which means "now", "at the present moment", "at the present time", "just now", "presently" and "as it is". With the article, its sense is "the present" or "this now". 

KJV — word by word

Bring -- The verb translated as "bring" means "to bear", "to carry", "to bring", "to produce" and "to fetch". It is the root word of a lot of other verbs Jesus uses commonly, including the words that mean "bring together", "bring to" and "bring through".

of --- (CW) The word translated as "from" means "from" in both locations and when referring to a source or a cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done and "away from". It is not the word form usually translated as "of". Referring to time, it means "from" and "after."

the  -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the", which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those") than the English "the". See this article for more. 

fish -- "Fish" is from a Greek noun, which means "fish". This is not the common Greek word for fish. Jesus only uses it here. 

which -- The word translated as "which" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this", "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun, "he", "she", "it", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "when", "for which reason" and many similar meanings. In the neuter, plural, its sense is "these things".

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here. 

 now  -- The Greek word translated as "now" means "now", "at the present moment", "presently" and "as it is". With the article, its sense is "the present" or "this now".

caught. "Caught" is from a verb that means "press tight", "squeeze", "press down", "oppress", "hold fast to", "insist upon" and "lay hold of". Jesus only uses it here. It is usually used in the Bible to refer to people being captured by others. 

NIV — word by word

Bring -- The verb translated as "bring" means "to bear", "to carry", "to bring", "to produce" and "to fetch". It is the root word of a lot of other verbs Jesus uses commonly, including the words that mean "bring together", "bring to" and "bring through".

some ---- (IW) This word is not in the Greek source

of --- (CW) The word translated as "from" means "from" in both locations and when referring to a source or a cause. It also means the instrument "by" which a thing is done and "away from". It is not the word form usually translated as "of". Referring to time, it means "from" and "after". 

the  -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the", which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those") than the English "the". See this article for more. 

fish -- "Fish" is from a Greek noun, which means "fish". This is not the common Greek word for fish. Jesus only uses it here. 

missing "which" -- (MW) The untranslated word  "which" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this", "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun, "he", "she", "it", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "when", "for which reason" and many similar meanings. In the neuter, plural, its sense is "these things".

you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here. 

 just -- The Greek word translated as "just" means "now", "at the present moment", "presently" and "as it is". With the article, its sense is "the present" or "this now".

caught. "Caught" is from a verb that means "press tight", "squeeze", "press down", "oppress", "hold fast to", "insist upon" and "lay hold of". Jesus only uses it here. It is usually used in the Bible to refer to people being captured by others.