Jonah 1:11

Jonah 1:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
• New International Version (NIV)The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.

Context of Jonah 1:11

9He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence because he had told them. So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse. 12He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I’m to blame for this great storm that is against you.” 13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.

Jonah 1:11 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ מַה־נַּ֣עֲשֶׂה לָּ֔ךְ וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק הַיָּ֖ם מֵֽעָלֵ֑ינוּ כִּ֥י הַיָּ֖ם הוֹלֵ֥ךְ וְסֹעֵֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• they unto him, What shall we doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• unto thee, that the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• may be calmשָׁתַקshâthaq · be quietH8367
• wroughtהָלַךְhâlak · to go: continueH1980
• and was tempestuousסָעַרsâ‛ar · to rageH5590

Cross-references for Jonah 1:11

• 1 Samuel 6:2the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners and pleaded, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we can send it back to its place.”
• 2 Samuel 21:1During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired of the Lord. The Lord answered, “It is due to Saul and to his bloody family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
• 2 Samuel 24:11When David got up in the morning, the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer:
• Micah 6:6What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?

Commentaries on Jonah 1:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11What shall we do unto thee - In these poor men there was an uncommon degree of humanity and tender feeling.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11What shall we do unto thee? - They knew him to be a prophet; they ask him the mind of his God. The lots had marked out Jonah as the cause of the storm; Jonah had himself admitted it, and that the storm was for “his” cause, and came from “his” God. “Great was he who fled, greater He who required him. They dare not give him up; they cannot conceal him. They blame the fault; they confess their fear; they ask “him” the remedy, who was the author of the sin…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-12Verses 8-12 Jonah gave an account of his religion, for that was his business. We may hope that he told with sorrow and shame, justifying God, condemning himself, and explaining to the mariners what a great God Jehovah is. They said to him, Why hast thou done this? If thou fearest the God that made the sea and the dry land, why wast thou such a fool as to think thou couldst flee from his presence? If the professors of religion do wrong, they will hear it…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. What shall we do unto thee?--They ask this, as Jonah himself must best know how his God is to be appeased. "We would gladly save thee, if we can do so, and yet be saved ourselves" (Jon 1:13, 14).Read the comment

Topics related to Jonah 1:11

• Jonah
• Superstition

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Cry
• Raging
• Jonah, the Book of

Commentaries on Jonah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings