Mark 1:20

“And at once he called them; and leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, they went away after him.”

Mark 1:20 · direct translation from the Greek
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Jesus calls fishermen, and they leave their netsFollowing Jesus

With the Greek beneath

20

Mark 1:20, word by word

at onceεὐθὺςeuthys

immediately

Without any time passing: what follows happens right after.

Where else “euthys” appears
he calledἐκάλεσενekalesen

call to life

God inviting someone to a new life.

Where else “ekalesen” appears
leavingἀφέντεςaphentes

leave

To part from something or someone and go on without it.

Where else “aphentes” appears
their fatherπατέραpatera

parents

A family's father; sometimes father and mother.

Where else “patera” appears
ZebedeeΖεβεδαῖονZebedaion

Zebedee

Zebedee, a fisherman of Galilee, father of James and John.

Where else “Zebedaion” appears
the boatπλοίῳploiōi

boat

Boat.

Where else “ploiōi” appears
the hired menμισθωτῶνmisthōtōn

hired hand

Hired hand, worker paid by the day.

Where else “misthōtōn” appears
they went awayἀπῆλθονapēlthon

go away

To leave where one is for another place, leaving something or someone behind.

Where else “apēlthon” appears
afterὀπίσωopisō

follow after

To walk behind someone, follow them.

Where else “opisō” appears

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

The call of the first disciples

Matthew 4:18-22Luke 5:1-11

Luke joins the call with the catch of fish; it is discussed whether it is the same event.

See them side by side

Mark 1:16-20

16And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you become fishers of people.” 18And at once they left the nets and followed him. 19And going on a little, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20And at once he called them; and leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, they went away after him.

Matthew 4:18-22

18And walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19And he says to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 20And they at once left the nets and followed him. 21And 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. 22And they at once left the boat and their father and followed him.

Luke 5:1-11

1Now it happened, while the crowd was pressing in on him and listening to the word of God, that he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2and he saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing the nets. 3And getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land; and sitting down, he was teaching the crowds from the boat. 4And when he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.” 5And Simon answered and said, “Master, through the whole night we worked hard and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the nets.” 6And when they had done this, they enclosed a great number of fish, and their nets were tearing. 7And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; and they came and filled both the boats, so that they were sinking. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.” 9For amazement had seized him and all those with him at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10and likewise also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11And when they had brought the boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

The context

19And going on a little, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.

20 · This verse (above)

21And they go into Capernaum. And at once on the Sabbath he was teaching in the synagogue.

Read all of Mark 1

To study Mark 1 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    What did Jesus say as he began to proclaim in Galilee (vv. 14–15)?

  2. 2. What it means

    Why were people amazed at Jesus' teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum (vv. 21–22, 27)?

  3. 3. How I live it

    Jesus rose early to pray alone (v. 35). What quiet moment can you set aside in your day?

How to use it