New King James Version
Matthew 4:19
19Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 4:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
- New International Version (NIV)“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
- New Living Translation (NLT)Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
Context of Matthew 4:19
17From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21Going 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. He called them,
Read all of Matthew 4Matthew 4:19 word by word
καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Matthew 4:19
- Matthew 8:22But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
- Matthew 9:9As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
- Matthew 16:24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
- Matthew 19:21Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
- Mark 2:14As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
- Luke 5:27After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.”
- Luke 9:59Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
- John 1:43The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
- John 12:26If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
- John 21:22Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
- Ezekiel 47:9And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.
- Mark 1:17Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
- Luke 5:10and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
- 1 Corinthians 9:20and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;
- 2 Corinthians 12:16But be that as it may, I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning!
Commentaries on Matthew 4:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Follow me - Come after me, . Receive my doctrines, imitate me in my conduct - in every respect be my disciples. We may observe that most of the calls of God to man are expressed in a few solemn words, which alarm, the conscience, and deeply impress the heart. I will make you fishers of men - Ezekiel 47:8-10, casts much light on this place; and to this prophet our Lord probably alludes. To follow Christ, and be admitted into a partnership of his ministry…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Fishers of men - Ministers or preachers of the gospel, whose business it shall be to win souls to Christ.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-22Verses 18-22 When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be witnesses of his miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and Andrew, could have wrought upon Annas and Caiaphas, for with God…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19Come, follow Me: This meant accepting the beliefs and lifestyle of a teacher as your own (Matthew 16:24; Deuteronomy 5:33; 1 Kings 19:19–21). fishers of men: The disciples would help in the saving and judging work of the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 10:5–15; 13:47–51; Ezekiel 29:4–5; Amos 4:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. And he saith unto them, Follow me--rather, as the same expression is rendered in Mark, "Come ye after Me" (Mr 1:17). and I will make you fishers of men--raising them from a lower to a higher fishing, as David was from a lower to a higher feeding (Psa 78:70-72).Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 4:19
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries