Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.
Parallel translations
- WEB He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
- KJV And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
- NKJV Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
- NASB And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
- NLT When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.
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
Jesus rebukes the wind and commands the sea to be still, and a great calm follows instantly.
Overview
With a word Jesus subdues the storm, exercising the authority the Old Testament ascribes to God alone, who stills the raging sea (Psalm 107:29). The immediate, total calm proves that creation obeys its Maker. This act reveals Jesus' divine identity and his power to bring peace into chaos.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 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 29:10The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
- Ps 65:7You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.
- Jer 5:22Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot cross it.
- Prov 8:29when He set a boundary for the sea, so that the waters would not surpass His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth.
- Job 38:11and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
- Exod 14:22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
- Ps 148:8lightning and hail, snow and clouds, powerful wind fulfilling His word,
- Ps 104:7–9At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—
- Ps 93:3–4The floodwaters have risen, O LORD; the rivers have raised their voice; the seas lift up their pounding waves.
- Exod 14:28–29The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
- Mark 9:25When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”
- Exod 14:16And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
- Nah 1:4He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.
- Luke 4:39and He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and began to serve them.
- Lam 3:31For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 4:39 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.