So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
Parallel translations
- WEB So the ship master came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we won’t perish.”
- BSB The 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.”
- NKJV So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
- NASB So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”
- NLT So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
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 ship's captain wakes Jonah and urges him to call on his God for rescue. It matters because a pagan must rebuke the prophet to do the very thing he was sent to do, namely pray.
Overview
The captain's plea that 'maybe' God will notice them echoes Nineveh's later hope for mercy, highlighting a theme of seeking grace. There is deep irony in a heathen sailor exhorting a Hebrew prophet to call on the Lord. Jonah's silence here underscores how sin can mute even those who know God best, and it magnifies the patience of the God who still pursues him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Jonah 3:9Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
- Ps 107:28–29Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
- 2 Sam 12:22And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
- Mark 4:37–41And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
- Eph 5:14Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
- Ps 107:12–13Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
- Amos 5:15Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
- Acts 21:13Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
- Rom 13:11And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
- Joel 2:11And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
- Ps 78:34When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
- Ps 107:6Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
- Esth 4:16Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
- Ezek 18:2What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
- Jer 2:27–28Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
- Isa 3:15What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
- Ps 107:18–20Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:6 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.