Paragraph 4:21–22

4:21a

Going on from there: The phrase Going on from there connects 4:21 with the preceding paragraph. Jesus continued walking along the shore from where he had met Simon and Andrew.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

As Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee (New Century Version)
-or-
A little farther up the shore (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Then he went further (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

4:21b

He saw two other brothers: The phrase two other brothers refers to two other men who also were brothers of each other. They were not brothers of Simon and Andrew. They were not brothers of Jesus.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

another man and his brother
-or-
two other men who were brothers

4:21c

James son of Zebedee and his brother John: In New Testament times, Jewish people used the name of their father to identify the family they belonged to. Zebedee was the father of James and John.

The phrase his brother refers to James. James’ brother was John. The phrase his brother does not refer to Zebedee. Zebedee was the father of both James and John.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee (God’s Word)
-or-
Jesus saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. (New Century Version)
-or-
he saw two more men, who were brothers of each other, James and John, Zebedee’s sons

See the note in 4:18c for ways to translate the word brother. Since John was mentioned last, he was probably the younger brother.

4:21d

They were in a boat: The boats used on Lake Galilee were small boats used for fishing and travel across the lake. They could hold from about four to fifteen people. People used oars (long paddles) to cause the boats to move across the water. Larger boats also had sails. (Sails are very large pieces of strong cloth that are attached to tall posts on the boat. The wind blows against the cloth which in turn pushes the whole boat.)

If you do not have a word for this kind of boat in your language, here are some other ways to translate this word:

• Use a word for a specific kind of boat in your culture. For example:

canoe

• Use a phrase that describes the function of a boat. For example:

a vehicle for crossing water
-or-
something for carrying people on top of water

Think about how your language talks about people being in a boat. In some languages it may be more natural to say that they were riding or sitting in a boat.

with their father Zebedee: In some languages, it may be natural to use the name Zebedee only once in this verse. So you would not repeat it here. For example:

with their father (Contemporary English Version)

mending their nets: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mending means “restoring to its former condition.” This includes:

(a) repairing/mending the parts of the net that were broken or torn. For example:

repairing their nets (New Living Translation (2004))

(b) cleaning and folding the nets to get the nets ready for the next day of fishing For example:

getting their nets ready (Good News Translation)
-or-
preparing their nets to go fishing (God’s Word)

4:21e

Jesus called them: In this context, the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as called means “invited” or “summoned.” The text implies that Jesus was inviting them to become his disciples. It does not mean “called out” or “shouted.”

Here are some other ways to translate these words:

Jesus asked them to come with him too (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Jesus told them also to ⌊come and⌋ follow him

-or-

Jesus invited them to be his disciples

This invitation may also be expressed as a direct quote. For example:

Jesus said to them, “Come with me and be my disciples.”

them: The pronoun them refers only to James and John. It does not include their father Zebedee. If this is not clear then you may want to translate this as:

Jesus invited the two of them to be his disciples

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