What Does Mark 1:17 Mean in the King James?
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Following comes before the new identity: Jesus undertakes to make these fishermen become what they are not yet.
THE MEANING
The invitation meets you now as a call into formation: come behind Jesus, and the becoming is his work. You do not have to arrive already transformed; the verse names both the direction and the one who shapes what follows.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that you must already be fully formed or equipped before you can follow; the promised becoming begins with the call.
THE ROOT
ποιήσω
poiēsō
GROWS FROM
ποιέω (ποιε-, poieō)
to make, do, or bring about
“make” in this verse is poiēsō. Jesus does not merely assign them a new task; the verb makes their formation his work. The same word family names God’s “workmanship” in Ephesians 2:10.
ALSO GROWS
poiēma: workmanship; a thing made
ποίημα
Ephesians 2:10 uses this related word for what God makes, echoing the promise that Jesus will shape those who follow.
poiētēs: maker or doer
ποιητής
This branch names one who does or makes, keeping the verse’s emphasis on active formation rather than a label alone.
γενέσθαι
genesthai
GROWS FROM
γιν-/γεν- (γίνομαι, ginomai)
to come into being or become
The sentence pairs “make” with “become”: its destination is a new way of being, not simply a new assignment. The fishermen are called while they are still becoming what the call names.
ALSO GROWS
genesis: origin, birth, or coming into being
γένεσις
This branch makes the sense of becoming vivid: the call opens a beginning of a changed identity.
genos: kind, family, or stock
γένος
This branch speaks of what someone becomes part of, widening the promise from a task toward a changed place among people.
THE PATTERN
A call is paired with the caller’s work of equipping the person and bearing fruit through them.
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.THE THREAD
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.“Make” in Mark and “workmanship” here come from the same Greek word family, ποιέω (poieō), meaning to make or do. The one called is also being made; the work begins in the person who follows.
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