They entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.
Parallel Translations
-
They entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.
-
and entred into a shyppe and went over the see vnto Capernaum. And anone it was darcke and Iesus was not come to them.
-
And entred into a shippe, and went ouer the sea, towardes Capernaum: and nowe it was darke, and Iesus was not come to them.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to John 6:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 6:45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the multitude away.
- John 6:24-25 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
- John 2:12 After this, he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
- John 4:46 Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine. There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 17. It was now dark. John passes by many…
17. It was now dark. John passes by many circumstances which the other Evangelists introduce; such as, that for several hours they struggled with a contrary wind; for it is probable that the storm arose immediately after the night began to come on; and they tell us that Christ did not appear to his disciples till about the fourth watch of the night, (Matthew 14:28; Mark 6:48.) Those who conjecture that they were still about the middle of the lake when Christ appeared to them, because John says that they had then advanced about twenty-five or thirty furlongs, are led into a mistake by supposing that they had sailed to the farther or opposite bank; for Bethsaida, near which town, Luke tells us, the miracle was performed, (Luke 9:10,) and Capernaum, which the ship reached, (John 6:16,) were situated on the same coast.
Pliny, in his fifth book, states that this lake was six miles in breadth, and sixteen in length. Josephus (in the third book of the Wars of the Jews) assigns to it one hundred furlongs in length, and forty in breadth; and as eight furlongs make one mile, we may easily infer how little the one description differs from the other. So far as relates to the present sailing, my opinion is, that they did not go over so great a space by direct sailing, but through being driven about by the tempest. However that may be, the Evangelist intended to show that, when Christ presented himself to them, they were in the utmost danger. It may be thought strange that the disciples should be tormented in this manner, while others had nothing to disturb them in sailing; but in this manner the Lord often makes his people fall into alarming dangers, that they may more plainly and familiarly recognize him in their deliverance.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain In Mark 6:45 they are willed to go before…
In Mark 6:45 they are willed to go before to Bethsaida, for Bethsaida was in the way to Capernaum.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 17 And entered into a ship, and went over…
17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
Ver. 17. Jesus was not come to them] This was worse to them than the storm. It was woeful with Saul when the Philistines were upon him, and God would not come at him, nor answer him, 1Sa 28:15. So when danger or death is upon a man, and God is far from him. That doom, "I will not show you favour," Jer 16:13, was worse than their captivity.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain By the sea is here meant the sea of…
By the sea is here meant the sea of Galilee, or lake of Tiberias, or of Gennesaret. There our Saviour and his disciples had left the multitude; the disciples having taken a boat, and passing over on the other side, and Christ having followed them, the multitude, probably having gone in the night to rest themselves at their several houses, came again in the morning, expecting to have found Christ, and have seen more miracles; being disappointed, understanding that both Christ and his disciples were gone over.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And entered into a ship,.... In which they came,…
And entered into a ship,.... In which they came, and was waiting for them; or into another:
and went over the sea towards Capernaum; steered their course from Bethsaida, where they took shipping over the sea of Galilee; at least over one part of it, a creek or bay of it, as they intended, towards the city of Capernaum, which lay over against Bethsaida:
Read full note →
and it was now dark; quite night, which made their voyage more uncomfortable, especially as it afterwards was tempestuous: but the worst of all was,
and Jesus was not come to them; as they expected, and therefore were obliged to set sail and go without him.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. Toward Capernaum.] St. Mark says, Mr 6:45,…
Verse 17. Toward Capernaum.] St. Mark says, Mr 6:45, that our Lord commanded them to go along to Bethsaida; and in the course of the history we find they got neither to Bethsaida nor Capernaum, but landed in the country of Genesaret: Mt 14:34. Our Lord seems to have desired them to go either to Bethsaida or Capernaum, which were only a very few miles distant, and on the same side of the sea. The reason why they could reach neither was the storm which the evangelists say rose at the time, and the wind being contrary: the storm being probably excited by the prince of the power of the air. Capernaum lay at the northern part of this sea, and they went along the Galilean or western coast, probably expecting Christ to come to them, on which account they might keep in close by the land. But there are great difficulties in fixing the places mentioned by the evangelists. By some writers Bethsaida and Capernaum are placed on opposite sides of this lake: by others on the same side. Sometimes when our translation speaks of passing over the sea, &c., a coasting voyage only is meant, as we find the disciples landing on the same side from which they had departed: See Clarke on Joh 6:22.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. toward Capernaum] S. Mark says ‘unto Bethsaida’ which…
17. toward Capernaum] S. Mark says ‘unto Bethsaida’ which was close to Capernaum. See notes and map at Mat_4:13 and Luk_5:1. For ‘went over the sea’ we should read were coming over the sea, i.e. were on their way home.
was not come] More accurately, was not yet come.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (17) For “a ship,” the received text has, with…
(17) For “a ship,” the received text has, with some of the best MSS., the ship—i.e., the ship in which they first crossed. For “went over the sea,” read were going over the sea. The voyage is described as still continuing.
Toward Capernaum.—St. Matthew speaks more generally of the other (i.e., the western) side. St. Mark of Bethsaida, which was distinct from Bethsaida Julias, which was on the east of the lake. (Comp. Note on Luk_9:10.) For an account of Capernaum, see Mat_4:13, and in this John Joh_6:59.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 17, 18. And darkness had already come on,…
Vers. 17, 18. And darkness had already come on, and Jesus had not yet come to them. This thrilling touch in John"s narrative makes it more than evident that the beloved disciple was on board. He had been expecting the Master to make his appearance in some form. He had looked long and eagerly to that point on the mountainside whither he knew that Jesus had retired. The dreary and disappointed expectation, the long and weary waiting, left an indelible impression. Their natural course towards Capernaum would have been almost parallel with the shore of the lake; but it was dark and tempestuous, they could not steer. And the sea was being roused from its slumber by reason of a high wind which was blowing. If the wind came from the north, it would drift them out into the darkness and the middle of the lake, which is there, at its widest, about five miles broad, i.e. forty stadia, or furlongs. The statement of the next verse comes then into undesigned coincidence with Mar_6:47, which shows that they were "in the midst of the sea," i.e. halfway from shore to shore. This would exactly correspond with the following statement.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.