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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.
Mark 4:39 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB 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.
  • 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 maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
  • Ps 89:9Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
  • Ps 29:10The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
  • Ps 65:7Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
  • Jer 5:22Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
  • Prov 8:29When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
  • Job 38:11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
  • Exod 14:22And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
  • Ps 148:8Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
  • Ps 104:7–9At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
  • Ps 93:3–4The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
  • Exod 14:28–29And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
  • Mark 9:25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
  • Exod 14:16But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
  • Nah 1:4He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
  • Luke 4:39And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.
  • Lam 3:31For the LORD will not cast off for ever:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 4:39YouTube · 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 MarkMatthew 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

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.