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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Quick answer
God hurls a great storm at the fleeing ship, showing He pursues His runaway prophet. It matters because God sovereignly controls creation to accomplish His purposes of correction and mercy.
Overview
The Lord who commissioned Jonah now sends the wind, demonstrating that even nature serves His will. This storm is not blind misfortune but a deliberate, gracious interruption to turn Jonah back. God's discipline of His own often looks severe, yet it aims at restoration rather than destruction (Hebrews 12:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 107:23–31Others went out to sea in ships, conducting trade on the mighty waters.
- Matt 8:24–27Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping.
- Amos 4:13For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God of Hosts, is His name.”
- Exod 14:21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,
- Ps 135:7He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
- Exod 10:19And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.
- Num 11:31Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp.
- Exod 15:10But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
- Acts 27:13–20When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had their opportunity. So they weighed anchor and sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete.
- Exod 10:13So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.
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 1:4 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.