And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
Parallel translations
- WEB James the son of Zebedee; John, the brother of James, and he called them Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder;
- BSB James son of Zebedee and his brother John (whom He named Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder”),
- NKJV James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”;
- NASB James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”);
- NLT James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”),
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
James and John, sons of Zebedee, are named 'Boanerges,' Sons of Thunder. It matters because the nickname hints at their fiery temperament that Christ would shape for service.
Overview
The brothers' bold, sometimes impetuous zeal earned them this striking name. Jesus does not reject such temperament but calls and refines it for kingdom use. The detail shows how Christ takes real, flawed people and forms them into apostles, transforming natural intensity into faithful witness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Mark 14:33And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
- Jer 23:29Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
- Mark 5:37And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
- Heb 4:12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
- John 21:20–25Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
- Mark 9:2And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
- Acts 12:1Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
- John 21:2There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
- Mark 1:19–20And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
- Mark 10:35And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
- Isa 58:1Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
- Rev 10:11And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 3:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.