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But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.
Jonah 1:4 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
  • BSB Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart.
  • NKJV But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
  • NASB However, the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea, so that the ship was about to break up.
  • NLT But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart.

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.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Ps 107:23–31Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters;
  • Matt 8:24–27Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep.
  • Amos 4:13For, behold, he who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought; who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the high places of the earth: Yahweh, the God of Armies, is his name.”
  • Exod 14:21Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
  • Ps 135:7who causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth; who makes lightnings with the rain; who brings the wind out of his treasuries;
  • Exod 10:19Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt.
  • Exod 15:10You blew with your wind. The sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
  • Num 11:31A wind from Yahweh went out and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the earth.
  • Acts 27:13–20When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to shore.
  • Exod 10:13Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jonah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jonah 1:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JonahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 1:4 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.