Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?” For the sea grew more and more stormy.
- KJV Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
- BSB Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?”
- NASB So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy.
- NLT And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”
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
As the sea grows fiercer, the sailors ask Jonah how to make it calm. It matters because they look to the offender for the remedy, and only costly action will quiet God's judgment.
Overview
The worsening storm presses the question of how the Lord's anger can be turned aside. Remarkably, the pagan crew defers to Jonah rather than acting rashly, seeking the right course before God. Their concern to do what is just toward both Jonah and themselves shows a tender conscience that the prophet has yet to recover.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Sam 6:2–3The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with Yahweh’s ark? Show us how we should send it to its place.”
- 2 Sam 21:1–6There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the face of Yahweh. Yahweh said, “It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
- Mic 6:6–7How shall I come before Yahweh, and bow myself before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
- 2 Sam 24:11–13When David rose up in the morning, Yahweh’s word came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Three days in the belly of the fish is the sign Jesus gave of his own death and resurrection (Matt 12:40); and God's mercy on pagan Nineveh foreshadows the gospel going to the nations.
How Jonah 1:11 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 Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.