Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore they cried to Yahweh, and said, “We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, don’t let us die for this man’s life, and don’t lay on us innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have done as it pleased you.”
- KJV Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
- BSB So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”
- NASB Then they cried out to the Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, Lord, have done as You pleased.”
- NLT Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
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
The sailors pray to Yahweh, begging not to be held guilty for Jonah's death. It matters because the pagan crew now calls on the true God by name, submitting to His sovereign will.
Overview
Their prayer acknowledges Yahweh's authority and His freedom to do as He pleases, a remarkable confession from former idolaters. They appeal against bearing 'innocent blood,' showing tender consciences and reverence for life. God's pursuit of one wayward prophet has become the means of leading these Gentiles to call upon Him, foreshadowing the gospel's reach to the nations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 115:3But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.
- Ps 135:6Whatever Yahweh pleased, that he has done, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps;
- Deut 21:8Forgive, Yahweh, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel.” The blood shall be forgiven them.
- Eph 1:11in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will;
- Ps 107:28Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.
- Jonah 1:16Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and made vows.
- Matt 11:26Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.
- Dan 4:34–35At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.
- Jonah 1:5Then the mariners were afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep.
- Eph 1:9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
- Gen 9:6Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.
- Acts 28:4When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped from the sea, yet Justice has not allowed to live.”
- Isa 26:16Yahweh, in trouble they have visited you. They poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them.
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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 1:14 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.