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Friday, July 11th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

Green's Literal Translation

Matthew 4:20

And leaving the nets, they immediately followed Him.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Apostles;   Call;   Faith;   Fishermen;   Galilee;   Jesus, the Christ;   Minister, Christian;   Net;   Peter;   Self-Denial;   Thompson Chain Reference - Andrew;   Obedience;   Obedience-Disobedience;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Devotedness to God;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Fish, Fisher;   Peter;   Tempt;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Andrew;   Brother;   Fish;   John the apostle;   Peter;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hutchinsonians;   Jesus Christ;   Self-Denial;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Peter;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jesus Christ;   John the Apostle;   Net;   Peter;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Disciples;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Net;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - John the Apostle;   Law;   Mss;   Nets;   Peter;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Authority of Christ;   Call, Calling;   Claims (of Christ);   Fish, Fisher, Fishing;   Following;   Forgiveness;   Forsaking All;   Incarnation (2);   James and John, the Sons of Zebedee;   John (the Apostle);   Judgment;   Labour (2);   Nets;   Poverty (2);   Wealth (2);   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Kingdom of christ of heaven;   Kingdom of god;   Kingdom of heaven;   Levi;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Ship;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Follow;   James;   Judas Iscariot;   Self-Surrender;   Simon the Canaanite;   Thaddaeus;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Simon Cephas;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
King James Version (1611)
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
King James Version
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
English Standard Version
Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
New American Standard Bible
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
New Century Version
So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.
Amplified Bible
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they straightway leauing the nets, folowed him.
Legacy Standard Bible
And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Berean Standard Bible
And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
Contemporary English Version
Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.
Complete Jewish Bible
At once they left their nets and went with him.
Darby Translation
And they, having left their trawl-nets, immediately followed him.
Easy-to-Read Version
Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.
George Lamsa Translation
So they immediately left their nets and went after him.
Good News Translation
At once they left their nets and went with him.
Lexham English Bible
And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
American Standard Version
And they straightway left the nets, and followed him.
Bible in Basic English
And straight away they let go the nets and went after him.
Hebrew Names Version
They immediately left their nets and followed him.
International Standard Version
So at once they left their nets and followed him.Mark 10:28; Luke 18:28;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
And they immediately forsook their nets and went after him.
Murdock Translation
And immediately, they left their nets, and went after him.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they strayghtwaye lefte their nettes, and folowed hym.
English Revised Version
And they straightway left the nets, and followed him.
World English Bible
They immediately left their nets, and followed him.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And straitway leaving the nets they followed him.
Weymouth's New Testament
So they immediately left their nets and followed Him. As He went further on,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And anoon thei leften the nettis, and sueden hym.
Update Bible Version
And they immediately left the nets, and followed him.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they immediately left [their] nets, and followed him.
New English Translation
They left their nets immediately and followed him.
New King James Version
They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
New Living Translation
And they left their nets at once and followed him.
New Life Bible
At once they left their nets and followed Him.
New Revised Standard
Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, they, straightway, leaving the nets, followed him.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they immediately leaving their nets, followed him.
Revised Standard Version
Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And they strayght waye lefte their nettes and folowed hym.
Young's Literal Translation
and they, immediately, having left the nets, did follow him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And they strayght waye lefte their nettes, and folowed hym.
Mace New Testament (1729)
so they immediately left their nets, and followed him.
Simplified Cowboy Version
They left the herd right there and rode off with him.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

Contextual Overview

18 And walking beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon being called Peter and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. 19 And He says to them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And leaving the nets, they immediately followed Him. 21 And going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. And He called them. 22 And at once leaving the boat and their father, they followed Him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Matthew 10:37, Matthew 19:27, 1 Kings 19:21, Psalms 119:60, Mark 10:28-31, Luke 18:28-30, Galatians 1:16

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 19:20 - he left Isaiah 6:8 - Then Mark 1:17 - fishers Luke 5:11 - they forsook

Cross-References

Genesis 4:2
And she continued to bear his brother, Abel. And Abel became a shepherd of flocks. And Cain became a tiller of the ground.
Genesis 4:4
And Abel brought, he also, from the firstlings of his flocks, even from their fat. And Jehovah looked to Abel and to his offering.
Genesis 4:5
And He did not look to Cain and to his offering. And Cain glowed greatly with anger, and his face fell.
Genesis 4:9
And Jehovah said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?
Genesis 4:10
And He said, What have you done? The voice of the blood of your brother cries to Me from the ground.
Genesis 4:11
And now you are cursed more than the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
Genesis 4:12
When you till the ground, it will not again give its strength to you. You shall be a vagabond and a fugitive on the earth.
Genesis 4:21
And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of all those playing the harp and the organ.
Genesis 25:27
And the boys grew up. And Esau became a man knowing hunting, a man of the field. And Jacob was a simple man, living in tents.
John 8:44
You are of the Devil as father, and the lusts of your father you desire to do. That one was a murderer from the beginning, and he has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaksfrom his own, because he is a liar, and the father of it.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they straightway left their nets,.... That is, as soon as he had called them, they left their worldly employment, and followed him; they gave up themselves to his service, and became his disciples; they not only left their "nets", but their fishing boats, and fishing trade, and all that belonged to it, even all their substance; and also their relations, friends, and acquaintance, see

Matthew 19:27 which shows what a mighty power went along with the words and call of Christ; and what a ready, cheerful, and voluntary subjection this produces, wherever it takes place.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Straightway - Immediately - as all should do when the Lord Jesus calls them.

Left their nets - Their nets were the means of their living, perhaps all their property. By leaving them immediately, and following him, they gave every evidence of sincerity. They showed, what we should, that they were willing to forsake all for the sake of Jesus, and to follow him wherever he should lead them. They went forth to persecution and death for his sake; but also to the honor of saving souls from death, and establishing a church that shall continue to the end of time. Little did they know what awaited them when they left their unmended nets to rot on the beach, and followed the unknown and unhonored Jesus of Nazareth. So we know not what awaits us when we become his followers; but we should cheerfully go when our Saviour calls, willing to commit all into his hands - come honor or dishonor, sickness or health, riches or poverty, life or death. Be it ours to do our duty at once, and to commit the result to the great Redeemer who has called us. Compare Matthew 6:33; Matthew 8:21-22; John 21:21-22.

Follow him - This is an expression denoting that they became his disciples, 2 Kings 6:19.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 4:20. They straightway left their nets — A change, as far as it respected secular things, every way to their disadvantage. The proud and the profane may exult and say, "Such preachers as these cannot be much injured by their sacrifices of secular property - they have nothing but nets, c., to leave." Let such carpers at the institution of Christ know, that he who has nothing but a net, and leaves that for the sake of doing good to the souls of men, leaves his ALL: besides, he lived comfortably by his net before but, in becoming the servant of all for Christ's sake, he often exposes himself to the want of even a morsel of bread. See on Matthew 19:27.


 
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