fishers of men

The Greek that is translated as “(I will make you) fishers of men (or: people)” in English is rendered in Martu Wangka as “before you used to work getting fish for people, now i think you should do another work getting people and teaching them to be my relatives” (source: Carl Gross).

In Galela it is translated as “. . . you teach people to follow me, which is similar to you netting fish to gather them in” (source: Howard Shelden in Kroneman 2004, p. 501).

Jesus Calls the Sons of Zebedee


“Fisherman spent their time finding fish to feed their family and sold what was left. It is not common for fishermen to be interested in or qualified for a study of the dharma but Jesus called them anyway.”

Drawing by Sawai Chinnawong who employs northern and central Thailand’s popular distinctive artistic style originally used to depict Buddhist moral principles and other religious themes; explanation by Paul DeNeui. From That Man Who Came to Save Us by Sawai Chinnawong and Paul H. DeNeui, William Carey Library, 2010.

For more images by Sawai Chinnawong in TIPs see here.

Following is a painting by Ketut Lasia (b. 1945):

Ketut Lasia is one of the last traditional Balinese painters in the Ubud style. As an adult, Lasia converted from Hinduism to Christianity, and he paints primarily biblical scenes. You can find artwork from Ketut Lasia in a variety of formats for sale at Fine Art America .

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In Nepali translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and other people with the medium honorific pronoun timīlē (तिमीले) or timīlēharū (तिमीलेहरू). This disciples respond with a high honorific pronoun. (Source: Chitra Chhetri in The Bible Translator 2009, p. 73ff. )

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

See also formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese).

Mark 1:14-20 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 1:14-20 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

Here’s what happened. This is the messenger John. He was captured and imprisoned. After that Jesus went back to Galilee. There are villages there. Jesus went through the villages and preached. Jesus was speaking to the people:

— God has a kingdom and authority. They approached. Repent, be changed! Stop your sins and evil deeds. Come back to be one with God. Believe what I say to you.

Jesus went and spoke to the people. There is a lake there. Jesus came to the lake. There were two men by the lake. The first man’s name was Simon and the second man’s name was Andrew. They were brothers. They were casting nets to catch fish. Jesus was passing by, noticed them and said to them:

— Follow me! I will give you my authority, and you will no longer be fishers of fish, but fishers of men. Follow me.

The brothers looked at Jesus and agreed. They threw down their nets and followed Jesus.

After a while, the laborers and fishermen gathered there. There were two men on the boat. The first was James and the second was John. They were brothers. Their father was also with them. They were mending torn nets. Jesus was passing by, noticed them and said:

— Both of you, follow me!

The brothers looked at Jesus, agreed. To their father and all the workers they said:

— We are going to follow Jesus.

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

Вот что случилось. Вот вестник Иоанн. Его схватили и заключили в тюрьму. После этого Иисус вернулся в Галилею. Есть там деревни. Иисус ходил по деревням и проповедовал. Иисус обращался к людям:

— У Бога есть царство и власть. Они приблизились. Вы покайтесь, изменитесь! Прекратите ваши грехи и злые дела. Вернитесь к единению с Богом. Верьте в то, что я говорю вам.

Иисус ходил и обращался к людям. Есть там озеро. Иисус пришел к озеру. Возле озера были два человека. Первого звали Симон, второго — Андрей. Они были братья. Они закидывали сети, чтобы ловить рыбу. Иисус проходил мимо, заметил их и сказал им:

— Следуйте за мной! Я дам вам мою власть, и вы больше не будете ловить рыбу, но будете ловцами людей. Следуйте за мной.

Братья посмотрели на Иисуса и согласились. Они бросили сети и последовали за Иисусом.

Через какое-то время там собрались рабочие и рыбаки. На лодке были два человека. Первый — Иаков, второй — Иоанн. Они были братья. С ними был также их отец. Они чинили порванные сети. Иисус проходил мимо, заметил их и говорит:

— Вы оба, следуйте за мной!

Братья посмотрели на Иисуса, согласились. Своему отцу и все работникам они сказали:

— Мы пойдем следовать за Иисусом.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

<< Mark 1:9-13 in Russian Sign Language
Mark 1:21-28 in Russian Sign Language >>

fishing

The Ghari translation uses different terms for “fishing”: with nets when fishing for fish and with a line when fishing for men. (Source: David Clark)

The translation for “fishing” (when referring to catching fish) in Ojitlán Chinantec is “catching water animals” and in Aguaruna “killing fish.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing the different kinds of fishing with a net in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also cast a net.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Fishing Economy in the Sea of Galilee .

Mark 1:16-21a in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 1:16-21a into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

En el alrededor del lago de Galilea Simón y Andrés, quienes eran hermanos, trabajaban, ellos eran pescadores. Jesús caminaba y los vió y gritó: vengan conmigo, dejen el trabajo con peces y en su lugar yo los enseñaré como en el futuro agarrarán a personas.

Los dos dejaron su trabajo con los redes y se juntaron con Jesús y fueron los tres.

Vieron un barco y había un hombre, Zebedeo, con sus hijos Jacobo y Juan y otra persona, un siervo, y juntos estaban trabajando arreglando los redes.

Jesús gritó: “Jacobo, Juan, vengan conmigo” y Jacobo y Juan dejaron su papá Zebedeo y se juntaron con Jesús y fueron como grupo al pueblo de Capernaúm.


After some time soldiers arrested John the Baptist and put him in prison. Jesus went to Galilee where he preached and announced something wonderful: it has been fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near, you need to believe and repent.

In the area of the lake of Galilee Simon and Andrew, two brothers, were working, they were fishermen. Jesus was walking there and saw them and shouted: come with me, leave the work with the fish and instead I will teach you and in the future you will take hold of people.

The two of them left their work with the nets and joined Jesus and the three of them went on.

They saw a boat and there was a man, Zebedee with his two sons, James and John and another person, a servant, working together repairing the nets.

Jesus shouted: “James, John, come with me”, and James and John left their father Zebedee and they joined Jesus and they went as a group to the village of Capernaum.

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

<< Mark 1:14-15 in Mexican Sign Language
Mark 1:21b-28 in Mexican Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 1:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 1:17:

  • Uma: “Yesus said to them, ‘Come follow me! You will no longer fish, hunting for fish. From now on I give you the work of teaching people to believe in me.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa said to them, ‘Come follow me. Your work is to catch/get fish. But when you follow me, I will teach you to catch/get people to follow me.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said to them, ‘So you are hunters for fish? Come with me and it is people you will be able to get to be my disciples.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He said to them, ‘Until now, you have been net-fishing fish. Become my disciples so that I will teach you to persuade people.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me, for I will make you to be like you’re fishing for men.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “Then he said to them: Come ye behind me, he said. I will make you enter 19 as people getters.” (Source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Balinese: “His words to them: ‘Hither now, follow me, I will make you cast-net-fishers of men.'” (Source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 75ff. )
  • English translation by Michael Pakaluk (2019): “So Jesus said to them: ‘Come, follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of men.'”