King James Version of Matthew 4:19-20
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Joseph Smith Translation
And he said unto them, I am he of whom it is written by the prophets;
follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they, believing on his words, left their net, and straightway followed him.
1. "I am he of whom it is written by the prophets" JESUS announces clearly that HE is the great I AM, the self-existing GOD. I am not sure, but my suspicions are that some scribe at some point under the influence of Satan, decided to remove this vital information.
2. "The prophets" refers to the Old Testament writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, etc. It can also means the Old Testament in general, which is full of references to CHRIST.
3. It is important that James and John are responding to the fact that JESUS is telling them HE is GOD, rather than just responding to a simple request to follow a man.
4. "They believing on his words" means the two brothers recognized the truth of CHRIST's words. You would not leave your livelihood based on a guess. James and John knew they were in the presence of something divine.
5. As an English teacher, I love the fact that "fishers of men" was not changed into some grammatically correct "fishermen of men". The LORD is probably using a play on words here. HE knows they are fishermen, but HE also knows that "fishers of men" will be more memorable to them, and to anyone reading about this event.
5. This is just another two verse example of the Prophet Joseph Smith shedding greater light on the greatest light, JESUS CHRIST.
