At this, they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm.
Parallel translations
- WEB So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging.
- KJV So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
- NKJV So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
- NASB So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
- NLT Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once!
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
They throw Jonah into the sea, and it immediately becomes calm. It matters because the sudden calm confirms that Jonah was indeed the cause and that God's word through him was true.
Overview
The instant stilling of the sea displays God's complete mastery over the storm He had sent. It vindicates Jonah's confession and signals that judgment, once satisfied, gives way to peace. The picture of a tempest quieted when the appointed man is given over points ahead to the peace secured when Christ was delivered up for sinners.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 93:3–4The floodwaters have risen, O LORD; the rivers have raised their voice; the seas lift up their pounding waves.
- Luke 8:24The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they subsided, and all was calm.
- Ps 107:29He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
- Ps 89:9You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.
- Ps 65:7You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.
- Matt 8:26“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.
- Josh 7:24–26Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.
- 2 Sam 21:8–9But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, as well as the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:15 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.