Mark 3:17

3:17 to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, ¹  he gave the name Boanerges (that is, “sons of thunder”);

Mark 5:37

5:37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, ²  and John, the brother of James.

Mark 9:2

The Transfiguration

9:2 Six days later ³  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, ⁴ 

Mark 10:35

The Request of James and John

10:35 Then ⁵  James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

Mark 14:33

14:33 He took Peter, James, ⁶  and John with him, and became very troubled and distressed.

Matthew 4:21

4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ⁷  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ⁸  he called them.

Acts 1:13

1:13 When ⁹  they had entered Jerusalem, ¹⁰  they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter ¹¹  and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there. ¹² 

Acts 12:2

12:2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword. ¹³ 

¹ tn Grk “to James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James.”

² tn Grk “and James,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

³ tn Grk “And after six days.”

⁴ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁶ tn Grk “and James,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

⁷ tn Or “their boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do here); or it can refer to “their” boat, implying possession. Mark assumes a certain preunderstanding on the part of his readers about the first four disciples and hence the translation “their boat” is justified (cf. also v. 20 in which the “hired men” indicates that Zebedee’s family owned the boats), while Matthew does not.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁹ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

¹⁰ tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the Greek text but is implied (direct objects were often omitted when clear from the context).

¹¹ sn In the various lists of the twelve, Peter (also called Simon) is always mentioned first (see also Matt 10:1-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16) and the first four are always the same, though not in the same order after Peter.

¹² tn The words “were there” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

¹³ sn The expression executed with a sword probably refers to a beheading. James was the first known apostolic martyr (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 2.9.1-3). On James, not the Lord’s brother, see Luke 5:10; 6:14. This death ended a short period of peace noted in Acts 9:31 after the persecution mentioned in 8:1-3.