The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then 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.
- KJV Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
- NKJV Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
- NASB Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried out to his god, and they hurled the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the stern of the ship, had lain down, and fallen sound asleep.
- NLT Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold.
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 terrified pagan sailors pray and jettison cargo while Jonah sleeps below deck. It matters because the prophet of God is more spiritually asleep than the pagans around him.
Overview
Each mariner cries to his own god, revealing the futility of idolatry in the face of real danger. The contrast is pointed: those without true knowledge of God are urgently praying, while the one who knows Yahweh is unconscious to the crisis. Jonah's sleep pictures the deadness that disobedience breeds, and his coming self-sacrifice in the sea faintly foreshadows a greater One who would calm a storm and give His life for others.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Jer 2:28But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
- Acts 27:18–19We were tossed so violently that the next day the men began to jettison the cargo.
- 1 Kgs 18:26And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
- Jonah 1:6The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
- Judg 16:19And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him.
- Isa 45:20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
- Luke 22:45–46When Jesus rose from prayer and returned to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
- Hos 7:14They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me.
- Jonah 1:14So 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.”
- Isa 44:17–20From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
- Jonah 1:16Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him.
- Matt 26:45Then He returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
- Acts 27:38After the men had eaten their fill, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
- 1 Sam 24:3Soon Saul came to the sheepfolds along the road, where there was a cave, and he went in to relieve himself. And David and his men were hiding in the recesses of the cave.
- Phil 3:7–8But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- Matt 26:40–41Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter.
- Matt 26:43And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping—for their eyes were heavy.
- Matt 25:5When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
- Job 2:4“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
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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 1:5 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
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