Chapter

Matthew 13:47

ESV “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
NIV Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.
NASB Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;
CSB "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish,
NLT Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.
KJV Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

What does Matthew 13:47 mean?

Jesus continues His catalogue of parables meant to describe the kingdom of heaven. He is concluding with a few very brief lessons. Recent examples compared seeking the kingdom of heaven to men selling all they had to obtain an even-more-valuable treasure (Matthew 14:44–46).

In this story, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to another scene which would have been familiar to most Israelites. It would have been especially meaningful to those who lived and worked around the Sea of Galilee. This describes a common process of fishing, which is the use of a net. An especially common form of net fishing is sometimes called trawling, which involves sweeping a net through the water. Alternatively, a large net is thrown flat onto the surface of the water, and sinkers pull it down, trapping everything underneath inside the net. Either method gathers up everything it surrounds, including many varieties of fish and animals. Some of these are useful to a fisherman, others are not.

This is the central idea of the parable: the net collects everything, but not everything collected is kept. Jesus will show the fate of the captured creatures in the following verses.
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