17 Bible Verses about Fishes

Most Relevant Verses

Genesis 1:20-21

Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Deuteronomy 4:15-18

“So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky,read more.
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth.

Matthew 4:18

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

Matthew 4:18-21

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.read more.
Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.

Jonah 1:17

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Matthew 14:17-21

They *said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,read more.
and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Ezekiel 47:9

It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.

Exodus 7:18

The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.”’”

Isaiah 19:8

And the fishermen will lament,
And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.

Jeremiah 16:16

“Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks.

Matthew 7:9-10

Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

Matthew 14:17

They *said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

Numbers 11:5

We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,

John 21:13

Jesus *came and *took the bread and *gave it to them, and the fish likewise.

Matthew 12:40

for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

From Thematic Bible


Fishes » Distinction between clean, and unclean

Leviticus 11:9-12

'These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. 'But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you, and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest. read more.
'Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is abhorrent to you.

Deuteronomy 14:9-10

"These you may eat of all that are in water: anything that has fins and scales you may eat, but anything that does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.

Fishes » Sold near the fish gate at jerusalem

2 Chronicles 33:14

Now after this he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish Gate; and he encircled the Ophel with it and made it very high. Then he put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

Zephaniah 1:10

“On that day,” declares the Lord,
“There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,
A wail from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crash from the hills.

Fishes » Inhabit » Ponds

Song of Solomon 7:4

“Your neck is like a tower of ivory,
Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath-rabbim;
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,
Which faces toward Damascus.

Isaiah 19:10

And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

Fishes » Miracles connected with » Multiplying a few

Matthew 14:17-21

They said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." And He said, "Bring them here to Me." Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, read more.
and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Matthew 15:34

And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

Fishes » No likeness of, to be made for worship

Exodus 20:4

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

Deuteronomy 4:18

the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth.

Fishes » Inhabit » Seas

Ezekiel 47:10

And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to Eneglaim there will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many.

Numbers 11:22

Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?”

Fishes » Mentioned in scripture » Whale

Genesis 1:21

God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Matthew 12:40

for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Fishes » Man given dominion over

Fishes » Often suffered for man's sin

Ezekiel 38:20

The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground.

Exodus 7:21

The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.

Fishes » Inhabit » Rivers

Exodus 7:18

The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.”’”

Ezekiel 29:5

“I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers;
You will fall on the open field; you will not be brought together or gathered.
I have given you for food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.

Fishes » Taken with » Hooks

Matthew 17:27

However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Amos 4:2

The Lord God has sworn by His holiness,
“Behold, the days are coming upon you
When they will take you away with meat hooks,
And the last of you with fish hooks.

Fishes » Taken with » Nets

Luke 5:4-6

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;

John 21:6-8

And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

Fishes » Catching of, a trade

Matthew 4:18

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

Luke 5:2

and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

Fishes » Mentioned in scripture » Leviathan

Job 41:1

Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?

Psalm 74:14

You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

Fishes » Mode of cooking alluded to

John 21:9

So when they got out on the land, they *saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.

Fishes » Different in flesh from beasts, &c

1 Corinthians 15:39

All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

Fishes » Miracles connected with » Immense draughts of

Luke 5:6

When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;

Luke 5:9

For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;

Fishes » Illustrative » Of men ignorant of future events

Ecclesiastes 9:12

Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.

Fishes » Illustrative » (bad,) of mere professors

Matthew 13:48-49

and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,

Fishes » Illustrative » (good,) of saints

Matthew 13:48-49

and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,

Fishes » Created by God

Genesis 1:20-21

Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens." God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Fishes » Illustrative » Of the whole population of egypt

Ezekiel 29:4-5

"I will put hooks in your jaws And make the fish of your rivers cling to your scales. And I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, And all the fish of your rivers will cling to your scales. "I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers; You will fall on the open field; you will not be brought together or gathered I have given you for food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.

Fishes » The tyrians traded in

Nehemiah 13:16

Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem.

Fishes » Miracles connected with » Procuring tribute money from

Matthew 17:27

However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Fishes » Illustrative » Of those ensnared by the wicked

Habakkuk 1:14

Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things without a ruler over them?

Fishes » Illustrative » Of the visible church

Matthew 13:48

and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

Fishes » Man permitted to eat

Genesis 9:2-3

"The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. "Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.

Fishes » Used as food » By the egyptians

Numbers 11:5

We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,

Fishes » Used as food » By the jews

Matthew 7:10

Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

Fishes » Number and variety of

Psalm 104:25

There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.

Fishes » Solomon wrote the history of

1 Kings 4:33

He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish.

Fishes » Cannot live without water

Isaiah 50:2

“Why was there no man when I came?
When I called, why was there none to answer?
Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke,
I make the rivers a wilderness;
Their fish stink for lack of water
And die of thirst.

Fishes » Made for God's glory

Job 12:8-9

"Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you. "Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this,

Fishes » Miracles connected with » Dressed on the shore

John 21:9

So when they got out on the land, they *saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.

Fishes » Taken with » Spears

Job 41:7

“Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?

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